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i\©iiM: 


THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  LETTERING 


^ 


Published   by  the 

McGrei'w-Hill   Bools^Conrnpaniy 

5ucce5Sor.s  io  the  Book DcptiHnionts  of  the 

McGraw  Publishing  Company  Hill  Publishing  0>mpany 

Publishers  of  Books  for 
Electrical  World  TKe  Engineering' and  Mining  Journal 

Engineering  Record  American   Macniniit 

Electric  Railway  Journal  Coal  Age 

Metallurgical  and  ClKemical  Engineering  Power 


jwvrnrwsnnrjnrTTrj 


r  iT  T  iT  iT  lT  iT  .HTiriTTmna 


THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  LETTERING 

A  MANUAL  FOR  STUDENTS  AND  DESIGNERS 


BY 

THOMAS  E.  FRENCH  and  ROBERT  MEIKLEJOHN 

THE    OHIO   STATE    UNIVEHSITY 


THIRD  EDITION 
THIRD  IMPRESSION 


McGRAW-HILL    BOOK   COMPANY 

2.i9   WEST  3'iTH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

6  BOU\ERlE  STREET.  LONDON,  E.  C. 

1912 


Cdpyhicht,   1(109,  I'.IKI,  1012,  by  Thomas  E.  Fuknch  and  Rdhkut  MiuRi.iaoiiN 


Printi-i!  and  Ehxirolyped 

by   The  MapU  Press 

i'otk.  Pa. 


6  b  d  u 
7  ^^   e 


PREFACE 


There  are  two  general  classes  of  persons  among 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  study  of  the  subject  of 
lettering,  first,  those  who  have  to  use  letters  to  convey 
information  on  drawings,  as  engineering  students  and 
draftsmen,  architects,  etc.;  second,  those  who  use  let- 
tering in  design,  as  art  students,  artists,  designers  and 
craftsmen.  The  foundation  is  the  same  for  both, 
whether  the  application  be  on  a  mechanical  drawing  or 
a  poster.  The  first  class  may  be  concerned  mainly 
with  legibility  and  speed,  and  the  second  with  beauty, 
but  there  can  be  no  distinction  in  the  principles  of  the 
subject. 

There  is  moreover  a  constant  overlapping  of  the 
classes  thus  arbitrarily  divided,  as  for  example  in  the 
case  of  the  architect,  who  has  both  to  letter  his  office 
drawings  and  to  design  permanent  inscriptions. 

One  need  only  to  recall  on  the  one  hand  instances  of 
the  painful  attempts  of  the  engineering  student  to  do 
something  "artistic,"  and  on  the  other  the  examples  of 


designs  made  by  otherwise  competent  art  students, 
which  have  been  ruined  by  inappropriate,  ill-formed, 
childish  lettering,  to  feel  that  there  are  some  in  both 
classes  who  have  failed  in  the  appreciation  of  lettering 
as  an  art. 

This  book  is  designed  as  a  general  text-book  on  the 
subject.  The  draftsman  may  take  up  as  much  as  is 
given  in  the  first  part,  for  the  ordinary  lettering  in 
connection  with  drawing;  the  designer  will  need  to  go 
farther  into  the  study  of  styles  and  composition  as 
carried  on  in  the  later  chapters. 

A  student  in  an  engineering  course  must  be  given 
training  in  lettering  as  a  necessary  requirement  in  the 
execution  of  technical  drawing,  but  it  is  too  often  true 
that  this  lettering  on  account  of  its  application  is 
considered  to  be  mechanical  drawing.  Let  it  be 
emphasized  here  at  the  outset  that  lettering  is  not 
mechanical  drawing,  but  is  design,  based  on  accepted 
forms  and  developed  freehand. 


Preface. 


We  have  taken  a  step  farther  in  sayinjr  that  there  is 
no  engineers'  lettering  as  distinguished  from  other 
lettering.  There  is  simply  the  adaptation  by  each 
draftsman  of  the  style  suitable  to  his  particular  needs. 
The  map  draftsman,  the  architectural  draftsman,  the 
machine  draftsman  will  each  select  appropriate  letters 
for  his  kind  of  work.  "Engineers'  lettering,"  so- 
called,  is  kept  in  bad  repute  by  those  who  persist  in 
making  such  mechanical  caricatures  as  geometrical 
letters,  block  letters,  etc. 

As  there  are  forms,  however,  for  each  branch  of 
drawing  which  are  particularly  adapted  to  it,  the  sub- 
ject should  be  taught  to  engineers  with  reference  to 
their  chosen  branch.  The  civil  engineer,  for  example, 
will  practice  the  Modern  Roman  and  the  stump  letter, 
as  these  have  become  standard  letters  in  map  drawing 
and  similar  work.  The  architect,  on  the  other  hand, 
will  have  no  use  for  the  Modem  Roman,  but  should 
study  in  detail  the  Old  Roman  of  both  the  early  and 
Renaissance  periods. 


To  the  engineering  student  it  may  seem  to  be  only  of 
general  interest,  but  to  the  architect,  art  student,  and 
designer,  some  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  alphabet 
and  the  different  periods  of  its  development  is  abso- 
lutely essential.  It  is  not  in  our  province  to  discuss 
the  origin  or  derivation  of  the  present  alphabet,  for 
this  the  student  if  interested  is  referred  to  the  standard 
works  on  palaeography;  but  a  short  historical  outline 
is  given  in  the  first  chapter  in  order  that  subsecjuent 
references  may  be  understood. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  analytical  plates  the 
letters  have  been  arranged  in  their  family  groups 
instead  of  in  the  usual  alphabetical  order. 

The  assistance  of  Mr.  Dard  Hunter,  Mr.  W.  A. 
Dwiggins,  Mr.  Ralph  Fletcher  Seymour,  Dr.  Rudolf 
von  Larisch,  Mr.  Alfred  Bartlctt,  Mr.  W.  J.  Norris,  Mr. 
Cree  Sheets,  Messrs.  Curtis  and  Cameron,  John  Wil- 
liams, Inc.,  the  Century  Company,  and  others  who 
have  made  drawings  for  this  book,  or  permitted  the 
reproduction  of  their  work,  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Preface    v 

CHAPTER  I 

Historical  Outline i 

CHAPTER  n 

Letter  Construction     4 

General  proportions — Optical  illusions — The  Roman  letter 
—  Rules  for  shading — Old  Roman — Renaissance  Roman — • 
Analysis  of  letter  forms — Geometrical  construction — Mod- 
ern Roman — Commercial  gothic — Single  stroke  letters — 
Single  stroke  vertical  capitals — Single  stroke  inclined  capi- 
tals— Reinhardt  letter — Inclined  Roman — Stump  letters. 

CHAPTER  III 

Composition  and  Titles 32 

Principles — Spacing — Titles,  for  machine  drawings,  for  ar- 
chitectural drawings,  for  maps — Symmetrical  composition — 
P'ull  panel — Other  title  forms — Record  strip. 

CH.A.PTER  rV' 

Selection  of  Styles 30 

For  architectural  work — Inscriptions  and  tablets — For  map 
drawing — For  signals  and  signs — For  shop  drawings. 

CHAPTER  V 

Letters  in  Design 42 

Importance — Old  Roman  in  design — Freedom  in  composi- 


Page 

tion — Broad  pen  construction — Roman  lower-case — -The 
Uncial— The  Celtic— The  Gothic,  or  "Text  letter"— Steel 
and  reed  pens  for  Gothic  writing — Italic  and  script — .Art 
nouveau. 

CH.APTER  VI 

Design  .and  Composition 64 

Principles — ^The  period,  purpose  and  material — Ornament — 
Legibility  and  beauty — Methods — Spacing — .Appropriate 
letters  for  different  branches  of  applied  design — Suggestions. 

CILAPTER  VII 

M0N0GR.AMS,  Ciphers  and  Marks        75 

Definitions — Requirements — The  period,  purpose  and 
material — Forms,  superimposed,  successive,  continuous, 
reversible — Method  of  designing  a  monogram — De\nces  and 
marks — Designs  with  separate  letters. 

CH.APTER  \1II 

Drawing  for  Reproduction      82 

Photomechanical  processes — Materials — Size — Methods  of 
enlarging  drawings — Color — Corrections — Effects  gained 
through  engraver's  aid. 

CH.APTER  IX 

Bibliography      85 

Index gi 


CHAPTER  I 


Historical  Outline 


"If  we  set  aside  the  still  more  wonderful 
invention  of  speech,  the  discovery  of  the 
aljthabet  may  fairly  be  accounted  the  most 
diflicult  as  well  as  the  most  fruitful  of  all 
the  past  achievements  of  the  human  intellect." 

For  the  general  student  of  history,  as  well  as  the  art 
student,  the  study  of  palaeography  is  an  interesting  one. 
Canon  Taylor,  from  whom  the  above  quotation  is  taken, 
has  written  a  history  of  the  alphabet*  in  two  large 
volumes  which  is  accepted  as  standard,  although  some 
of  his  theories  are  disputed  by  other  palaeologists;  and 
a  bibliogra])hy  of  other  works,  both  historical  and 
practical,  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  book.  It  is 
sufficient  for  us  to  say  that  our  letters  are  the  result  of  a 
long  evolution  probably  from  the  Egyptian  and  through 
the  Phcenician  and  Greek  to  the  Roman.  The  forms 
of  the  letters  of  our  present  alphabet  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  j,  u,  w,  y,  and  z)  reached  their  full  develop- 


ment about  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  have  been 
presen'ed  for  us  on  the  Roman  inscriptions  of  that 
period.  This  early  letter,  which  we  now  call  Old 
Roman,  is  the  parent  of  all  the  styles,  however  diver- 
sified, which  are  in  use  to-day,  and  curiously  enough, 
instead  of  being  archaic,  is  the  most  useful  and 
artistic  one  for  the  designer. 


li^"2^ 


*  The  Alphabet,  Its  Origin  and  Development.     Isaac  Taylor,  London. 


IMPCAESARlDlVl 

TRAIANOAVGCE 

MAXrMOTRI'SPOT 


Fig.  I. — Portion  of  Inscription  on  tlie  Trajan  Coiumu. 


Historical  Outline 


This  monumental  form  was  used  in  the  earliest 
Latin  manuscripts  with  such  modifications  as  would 
naturally  arise  from  the  use  of  |he  pen  instead  of  the 
chisel.  A  variety  known  as  rustic,  although  this  name 
has  nothing  to  do  with  its  appearance,  was  in  use 
also  from  the  second  to  the  fifth  century.  This  form, 
however,  is  of  no  practical  value  to  us.  In  the  fourth 
century  there  was  developed  the  uncial,  a  letter  with 
beautiful  curved  outlines  and  of  great  value  to  the 
designer.  In  the  evolution  of  this  form,  the  Irish 
half-uncial,  now  known  in  design  as  Celtic,  reached 
a  degree  of  perfection  and  beauty  never  since  sur- 
passed. The  wonderful  book  of  Kells  (early  eighth 
century)  in  the  Dublin  museum  is  perhaps  the  finest 
example  of  lettering  and  illuminating  extant. 

It  will  be  noted  that  up  to  this  time  there  was  not  a 
separate  alphabet  of  capitals  and  small  letters;  not  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  was  this  distinction 
made.  This  period  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
writing.  Charlemagne  in  789  ordered  the  revision  and 
rewriting  of  all  the  church  books.  In  the  activity  in 
the  monasteries  which  followed,  Alcuin  of  York,  the 
friend  and  advisor  of  Charlemagne,  and  who  was 
Abbot  of  St.  Martin's  of  Tours,  developed  an  alphabet 


of  lower  case  letters,  which  has  been  known  ever  since 
as  the  Caroline  (Carlovingian)  minuscule.  Our 
present  script  writing  is  the  direct  descendant  of  this 
Caroline  letter. 

Figure  2  is  a  reproduction  of  a  ninth  century  manu- 
script, showing  this  letter    written,   it  will  be  noted. 


^emmixmen  msmrabimufterauodrKmao 
facrtc  MtCauaBimuf  indu^ae  •  uxprtyruo  itl 
rgno^2rt?  im»  (iuato.munuf  hooaaoimuLtaf 
{jtr^jimuf  uolwraca 

iT>   TuLLi  cicen^oNis  AJoheiLENNij 
LiBeit  pRjfnus  e.xpLiciT- 
)ncij>it  iiBeiL    secuN  OuSv 


Fig.  2. — From  a  Ninth  Century  Manuscript. 

with  a  slanted  pen.  This  full  round  letter  gradually 
became  more  compressed  as  parchment  became  more 
expensive,  and  is  known  from  the  eleventh  century  on 
as  Gothic.  During  all  this  time,  the  old  Roman 
capitals  were  in  constant  use  as  initial  letters.     This 


Historical  Outline 


Gothic  reached  its  extreme  limit  of  angularity  and 
compression  in  the  fourteenth  and  lifteenth  centuries, 
when  the  curves  had  given  place  entirely  to  angles. 
When  the  letter  is  so  much  compressed  that  the  black 
strokes  are  wider  than  the  white  spaces  between,  it  is 
known  as  blackletter.  The  form  commonly  known 
as  Old  English  is  an  English  Gothic  of  this  period. 

The  Italians,  who  never  followed  the  extreme  angu- 
larity of  the  English  and  German  Gothic,  went  back 
in  the  period  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  (fifteenth 
century)  to  the  Caroline  minuscule  as  a  model,  and 
designed  the  Roman  small  letters,  the  letter  of  our 
books  of  today.  The  architects  of  the  same  period  in 
their  revival  of  classic  architecture  remodeled  the  old 
Roman  capital  letters  for  monumental  use. 

At  the  invention  of  printing  in  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  the  first  types  were  cut  in  imitation 


of  the  Gothic  writing  of  that  period,  but  soon  after- 
wards (1468)  type  was  cut  on  Roman  lower  rase. 
Throughout  the  next  century  books  were  printed  both 
in  Roman  and  Gothic.  The  Roman  finally  replaced 
the  Gothic  entirely,  except  in  Germany,  whose  modern 
German  text  is  the  sole  survivor  of  the  mediaeval  form. 
In  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Italic  was  designed. 
The  graceful  French  script,  the  letter  of  the  period  of 
the  Louis'  followed.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the 
modifications  which  resulted  in  the  modern  Roman 
occurred.  In  the  nineteenth  century  was  begun  the 
use  of  the  bold  letter,  which  we  call  Commercial 
Gothic.  The  present  century  is  witnessing  a  most 
extensive  revival  of  good  lettering.  The  leaders  in 
this  movement  are  the  German  secessionists  and  the 
varieties  of  letters  which  they  are  producing  may  be 
classified  under  the  general  term  of  Art  Nouveau. 


CHAPTER  II 


Letter  Construction 


General  Proportions. — Before  combining  letters 
into  words  we  must  be  familiar  in  detail  with  the  forms 
and  peculiarities  of  each  letter.  Letters  vary  in  their 
proportion  of  width  to  height.  Not  only  are  the 
widths  of  the  different  letters  in  the  same  alphabet 
very  uncriual,  but  different  alphabets  vary  in  their 
"measure,"  some  being  tall  and  narrow,  others  short 
and  wide.  There  is  a  certain  proportion  or  appear- 
ance as  in  the  ordinary  printed  or  drawn  letters 
which  may  be  called  normal  or  standard.  The 
styles  whose  widths  are  less  than  these  in  propor- 
tion are  called  compressed  or  condensed,  and  those 
whose  widths  are  greater  are  known  as  expanded  or 
extended. 

There  is  also  in  the  different  styles  a  wide  variation 
in  the  proportion  of  the  thickness  of  the  stem  or  stroke 
of  the  letters  to  their  height,  ranging  all  the  way  from 
1/3   to    1/16.     Letters   with   heavy   stems   are   called 


Bold  Face  or  Black  Face,  and  those  with  thin  stems, 
Light  Face. 

There  is  an  optical  illusion  well  known  to  all  design- 
ers, in  which  a  horizontal  line  drawn  across  the  middle 
of  a  rectangle  appears  to  be  below  the  middle.  In 
order  that  the  divisions  may  seem  to  be  symmetrical 
such  a  line  must  be  drawn  above  the  middle.  In  the 
construction  of  letters  this  illusion  must  be  provided 
for  in  what  may  be  called  the  "rule  of  stability."  In 
order  to  give  the  appearance  of  stability  such  letters 
as  the  B  E  K  S  X  and  Z,  with  the  figures  3  and  8 
must  be  drawn  smaller  at  the  top  than  the  bottom. 
To  see  the  effect  of  this  illusion  turn  a  printed  page 
uj)side  down  and  notice  the  letters  mentioned. 

Another  optical  illusion  which  must  be  provided  for 
in  large  carefully  drawn  letters  is  that  a  round  letter 
of  the  same  height  as  an  adjacent  square  letter  will 
appear  smaller,  as  it  touches  the  guide  line  at  only  one 


Lettkr  Construction 


point.  In  order  to  give  the  appearance  of  equal 
height,  the  round  letters  must  be  extended  a  trifle  over 
the  guide  line  on  top  and  bottom.  This  is  also  true 
in  regard/to  the  pointed  ends  of  the  angular  letters.  A 
letter  corning  to  a  sharp  point  at  the  guide  line  will 
appear  smaller  than  its  companions.  The  point  may 
either  be  extended  over  the  line,  or  cut  off  as  in  Fig.  14. 

These  are  delicate  refinements  and  any  exaggeration 
of  them  is  much  worse  than  not  observing  them  at  all. 

A  letter  drawn  in  outline  will  not  appear  to  have  the 
same  proportion  of  stem  to  height  as  one  of  the  same 
width  of  stem  made  solid,  because  in  the  first  instance 
the  eye  sees  the  enclosed  area  and  in  the  second  sees 
the  outside.  On  this  account  a  letter  which  is  to  be 
filled  in  solid  should  be  outlined  in  ink  so  that  the 
outside  edge  of  the  ink  line  touches  the  penciled  outline. 

These  general  proportions  and  peculiarities  arc  true 
of  all  styles.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  consider  the 
two  fundamental  styles,  the  Roman  Capitals  and  the 
Commercial  Gothic. 

THE  ROMAN  LETTER 

The  Roman  is  the  foundation  letter.  Although 
there  are  countless  variations  of  it,  there  may  be  said 


to  be  three  general  forms,  the  early  or  classic,  the 
renaissance,  and  the  modern.  The  classic  and  the 
renaissance  are  very  similar  in  effect,  and  the  general 
term  Old  Roman  is  given  to  both.  Type  based  on 
this  form  is  called  by  the  printers  "Roman  Oldstyle," 
and  that  based  on  the  modern  form,  simply  "Roman." 
With  the  newer  faces  of  type,  however,  this  distinction 
is  not  so  significant. 

The  Roman  letter  is  composed  of  two  weights  of 
lines,  corresponding  to  the  down  stroke  and  the  up 
stroke  of  the  broad  reed  pen  with  which  it  was  origi- 
nally written;  and  from  this  we  can  formulate  a  rule 
which  will  prevent  the  inexcusable  fault  of  shading  a 
letter  incorrectly.  With  twenty  centuries  of  established 
form  as  precedent,  it  is,  from  the  standpoint  of  design, 
as  bad  to  shade  a  letter  on  the  wrong  stroke  as  it  is  to 
reverse  it  or  to  misspell  the  word  in  which  it  occurs. 
To  determine  the  accented  lines,  we  have  then  simply 
to  draw  the  letter  in  one  stroke  and  note  which  lines 
were  made  downward. 

AMNUVWYZORSX 

Fig.  .5. 


Letter  Construction 


It  will  be  noticed  that  all  the  inclined  shaded  strokes 
with  the  exception  of  Z  arc  downward  from  left  to 
right  (\)  which  makes  a  secondary  or  supplementary 
rule  applicable  to  X  and  Y. 

RULES  FOR  SHADING  ROMAN  LETTERS 
(i)   Heavy  Lines — all  down  strokes.     This  includes 
all  vertical  lines  (except  as  noted  above  in  M,  N,  and 
U),  and  all  lines  slanting  downward,  left  to  right. 
(2)  Light  Lines — all  horizontal  strokes.     All  strokes 
upward  from  left  to  right  (except  Z) 

In  the  Roman  letter  the  heavy  line  (a) 
is  called  the  stem  or  body  mark,  the  light 
line  (b)  the  hair  line,  the  cross  stroke  (c) 
which  finishes  all  free  ends  the  serif,  and 
the  cur\'es  (d)  connecting  the  serifs  with 
the  stem,  brackets  or  fillets. 

THE  OLD  ROMAN 

Of  the  many  existing  inscriptions  of  the  early  Roman 
period,  that  at  the  base  of  the  Trajan  Column  at 
Rome  (114  A.  D.)  may  be  taken  as  a  typical  example. 
Fig.  I  is  a  photograph  of  a  portion  of  the  inscription, 
and  Fig.  5  an  alphabet  drawn  carefully  from  this  great 
classic  example. 


d.. 


Fig.  4. 


ABCDE 
FGILM 
NOPRS 
T'OyX 

Fig.  5. — Classic  Roman.     Drawn  from  the  Trajan  Column. 


OLD    ROMAN   (renaissance) 


ITALIAN    1315      TOMB    OF   HENRY    VII 


N 


11 


ITALIAN     1455       MAR,SVPPIN1     MONVMENT 


Fig.  6. — Two  Examples  of  Renaissance  Roman. 
7 


Letter  Construction 


At  the  time  of  the  ItaHan  Renaissance  the  architects 
went  to  the  old  Roman  models  for  their  letters,  modify- 
ing and  retming  them.  Fig.  6  illustrates  two  famous 
examples  of  Mediaeval  Roman,  differing  widely  in 
appearance,  the  Henry  VII  having  the  largest  serifs 
that  would  ever  be  used,  and  the  Marsuppini  very 
small  ones. 

The  Old  Roman  is  a  light  face  letter,  the  body  stroke 
being  one-eighth  to  one-tenth  of  the  height  of  the 
letter,  and  the  hair  line  from  two-fifths  to  two-thirds 
of  the  width  of  the  body  stroke. 

In  the  proportion  of  width  to  height  the  Old  Roman 
alphabet  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  the  wide 
letters  and  the  narrow  letters,  and  it  is  the  combination 
of  these  that  gives  the  variety  and  beauty  to  this  style. 
The  division  is  as  follows: 

A  CD  GH  MNO  Q_TVW  Z 
B     EF  IJKL      PRS         XY 

Fig.  7. 

In  the  Renaissance  Old  Roman  the  narrow  letters 
are  sometimes  wider  in  projiortion  than  those  of  the 
early  period,  but  the  above  division  is  still  very  evident. 


J,  U,  Y,  and  Z  arc  letters  of  a  later  period  than  the 
rest  of  our  alphabet.  J  was  not  diilerentiated  from  I 
until  the  sixteenth  century,  and  hence  in  designing 
strictly  classical  inscriptions  I  is  sometimes  used  for  J. 
Similarly,  the  curved  U  is  of  later  introduction,  the 
sharp  V  being  used  for  it  until  comparatively  recent 
times.  In  careful  Old  Roman  lettering,  therefore,  it 
is  entirely  in  keeping  to  use  V  for  U  if  the  legibility  is 
not  affected.  Its  indiscriminate  use  however,  as  for 
example  on  office  drawings  should  be  avoided.  Such 
use  is  often  pure  affectation.  Some  in  order  to  pre- 
serve legibility  without  using  the  U  form,  adopt  the 
manuscript  form  u,  as  in  Figs.  99  and  loi. 

The  beauty  of  the  Roman  letters  depends  not  a 
little  upon  the  appearance  of  the  serifs  and  spurs  which 
terminate  every  free  end.  These  originated,  probably, 
from  a  chisel  cut  made  across  the  end  to  prevent  over- 
cutting,  and  were  copied  by  the  penmen  on  account 
of  the  finished  appearance  which  they  gave.  They 
are  connected  to  the  stems  by  small  curved  fillets  or 
brackets,  and  great  care  must  be  observed  in  drawing 
these  curves.  If  made  even  a  trifle  too  large,  the 
appearance  of  the  letter  is  badly  marred.  Fig.  8  shows 
in  detail  several  forms  of  these  terminals. 


Letter  Construction 


(a)  is  the  serif  of  the  classical  Old  Roman. 

(b)  a  longer  serif  as  found  on  some  renaissance 
examples. 

(c)  the  serif  on  the  hair  line  of  the  A,  M,  and  N. 

(d)  top  and  bottom 
spurs  on  horizontal  lines, 
such  as  E  and  T. 

The  requirements  for 
proficiency  in  lettering 
are,  first,  an  intimate  and 
critical  knowledge  of  the  <— ' 
letter  forms,  second,  and 
more  important,  the  feel- 
ing for  composition, 
which  can  be  gained  only 
by  continued  observa- 
tion and  practice. 

Although  difficult  of  execution  both  in  individual 
form  and  in  composition,  the  Old  Roman  as  the 
foundation  letter  must  be  studied  first  by  those  who 
are  interested  in  lettering  as  an  art. 

Those  who  wish  only  to  acquire  the  ability  to  letter 
a  shop  drawing  legibly  and  correctly  may  use  the  time 
available  with  the  single  stroke  letters  of  pages  23  and 


Fig.  S.— Serifs 


26  alone,  but  with  such,  even  a  slight  knowledge  of 
the  historical  forms  will  greatly  increase  the  power  of 
appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in  lettering. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  student  is  familiar  with  the 
use  of  the  ordinary  drawing  instruments.  While 
lettering  is  not  mechanical  drawing,  a  T  square,  tri- 
angle and  dividers  are  necessary  adjuncts. 

In  penciling,  a  very  light  free  sketchy  line  should 
be  employed,  and  the  use  of  a  very  hard  pencil  avoided. 
The  beginner's  usual  mistake  is  in  cutting  into  the 
paper  with  hard  wiry  lines  that  cannot  be  erased  and 
that  hinder  the  motion  of  the  pen.  A  2H  pencil 
sharpened  to  a  long  conical  point  is  in  general  the  best. 

Figs.  9  and  10  contain  a  carefully  drawn  Renaissance 
Roman  alphabet.  The  stems  are  one-ninth  of  the 
height  of  the  letter,  and  the  hair  lines  one-half  the 
width  of  the  stems. 

The  width  of  each  letter  is  given  in  units,  the  unit 
being  one-ninth  of  the  height  of  the  letter.  A  scale 
should  be  made  by  dividing  the  height  into  nine  parts 
and  marking  these  divisions  on  the  edge  of  a  strip  of 
paper  or  a  card. 

The  fine-line  circles  and  geometrical  construction 
shown  on  this  plate  are  given  for  use  in  drawing  the 


I'lG.  g. — Roman  Alphabet  (lirst  hallj,  with  a  Method  of  Geometrical  Construclion  ior  Large  Letters. 

10 


Fig.  io. — Roman  Alphabet  (second  half)  with  a  Method  of  Geometrical  Construction  for  Large  Letters. 

11 


Letter  Construction 


letters  to  large  size  for  architectural,  and  other  purposes 
and  will  be  described  later. 

In  studying  this  alphabet,  top  and  bottom  guide 
lines  and  a  center  or  waist-line  should  be  drawn, 
making  the  letters  not  less  than  one  inch  high,  prefer- 
ably much  larger,  and  the  letters  drawn  in  outline, 
freehand,  fixing  the  proportion  and  characteristics  of 
each  letter  firmly  in  the  mind. 

The  letters  on  this  plate  are  given  in  their  alphabet- 
ical order  for  convenience,  but  in  studying  them  it  is 
well  to  take  them  in  their  family  order  as  given  in  Fig. 
13,  and  learn  the  relationships. 

jr.        ju  -5. 


-S_l 


13^4 


Fig.  II. — Typical  Order  and  Direction  of  StroUes. 

The  widths  should  be  marked  off  from  the  paper 
scale  and  the  letters  sketched,  keeping  the  stems  of 
uniform  width,  following  the  general  order  and  direc- 
tion of  strokes  outlined  in  Fig.  11,  always  drawing  the 
outlines  of  the  main  strokes  of  the  letter  first,  then  the 


serifs,  and  finally  the  fillets.  The  analyzed  H  is 
typical  for  all  the  straight  letters.  The  letters  with 
inclined  sides  should  have  the  outside  lines  made  first 
as  in  the  A  of  Fig.  11. 

In  the  O  family  the  outside  curves  of  the  O,  Q,  C, 
and  D  are  circles  and  when  done  freehand  should  be 
drawn  in  two  strokes  as  shown  in  Fig.  1 1.  The  inside 
curve  is  an  ellipse,  usually  tilted  at  an  angle  as 
indicated. 


Fig.  12. — Stages  of  Construction. 

The  narrow  curved  letters  B,  P  and  R  are  sketched 
by  first  drawing  the  main  stem,  then  starting  the 
horizontal  lines,  then  marking  the  extreme  points  of 
the  curve.  The  inside  lines  of  the  curved  strokes  may 
be  made  before  the  outside,  as  the  beauty  of  these 
letters  depends  largely  on  the  shape  of  the  enclosed 
space  of  the  background. 

In  inking  the  Old  Roman  as  a  solid  freehand  letter, 
a  rather  coarse  writing  pen  should  be  used,  and  it  is 


12 


OLD    ROMAN 


r -<rT7» 


rrn 


r=p^ 


lZ^-.J-.^Aj  1 J. 


-?--'■ ■; 


=4-- 


4- 


;'w'""T""S7": 


Fig.  ij. — A  Shorl  Serif  Roman  Alphalicl,  Construe loi  on  Squares. 

13 

/ 


Lktter  Construction 


better  to  ink  a  broad  line  down  the  inside  first  (using 
a  brush  for  large  letters)  and  build  out  to  the  outline, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  12,  rather  than  to  ink  in  the  outline 
and  fill  in. 

The  ampersand  ( &)  is  a  monogram  of  the  Latin 
word  ct.  It  is  made  in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  the 
one  in  Fig.  13  being  an  early  form  which  shows  clearly 
its  derivation. 

Fig.  13  is  another  Roman  alphabet,  grouped  in 
family  order,  and  with  the  letters  enclosed  in  squares 
to  show  their  proportions.  The  serifs  on  this  letter  arc 
shorter  and  thicker,  suitable  for  raised  letters  in  stone 
or  metal.  In  drawing  them  great  care  must  be  exer- 
cised to  avoid  any  exaggeration  of  this  shape,  and  the 
getting  of  a  club-footed  effect. 

A  description  of  the  method  of  drawing  Roman 
letters  in  single  stroke  with  a  broad  pen  is  given  in 
Chapter  V,  page  44. 

Mechanical  Construction. — Occasions  will  arise, 
such  as  in  the  design  of  inscrijUion  lettering,  when  it 
will  be  necessary  to  construct  letters  accurately  with 
drawing  instruments.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  published 
a  book  in  15 14  with  a  beautiful  alphabet  constructed 
geometrically,    and    several    other    noted    mediaeval 


architects  and  writers  followed  with  other  construc- 
tions, some  very  complicated. 

The  construction  given  in  Figs.  9  and  ro  is  on  the 
order  of  these  great  precedents,  but  is  made  for 
practical  use,  and  it  is  believed,  will  be  found  very 
easy  to  follow. 

The  modulus  or  unit  is  one-ninth  of  the  height  and 
all  the  dimensions  are  given  in  terms  of  this  unit. 
The  stems,  as  has  been  stated,  are  one  unit  wide  and 
the  light  lines  one-half  unit.  All  the  fillets  on  vertical 
stems  have  a  radius  of  seven-eighths  of  a  unit.  The 
small  figure  in  all  the  other  circles  is  the  radius  in  units. 
The  ellipses  of  the  inside  lines  of  the  curved  letters  are 
made  with  four  centers  with  the  construction  shown  in 
the  dotted  lines.  The  dimensions  for  this  construction 
are  shown  in  the  O,  Fig.  10,  and  are  the  same  for  all 
the  letters,  the  angle  of  tilt  being  15  degrees,  and  the 
radii  of  course  being  found  by  marking  the  thickness 
of  the  stems  from  the  outside  curve,  which  is  always  a 
circle. 

In  constructing  these  letters  for  execution  in  stone 
the  comment  on  page  40  should  be  observed. 

This  geometrical  construction  is  given  as  a  close 
mechanical  approach  to  the  forms  of  the  letters.     No 


14 


Letter  Construction 


mechanical    construction,   however,    can   impart   the 
subtlety  and  character  of  the  freehand  curves. 

THE  MODERN  ROMAN 

In  the  eighteenth  century  modifications  were  intro- 
duced by  some  of  the  type  founders  which  resulted  in 
the  letter  in  common  use  now  in  our  books  and  news- 
papers, and  which  we  have  called  Modern  Roman. 
This  modern  form  has  lost  all  the  variety  and  beauty 
of  its  old  prototype,  is  essentially  inartistic  and  of 
absolutely  no  value  in  design,  as  in  the  attempt  for 
uniformity  it  has  become  only  mechanical  and  mo- 
notonous, but  it  is  the  standard  letter  of  our  government 
in  the  bureau  of  engraving  and  printing,  coast  survey, 
topographic  survey,  and  geological  survey,  and  is  in 
general  use  throughout  the  country  for  maps  and 
similar  work;  it  therefore  must  be  mastered  thoroughly 
by  all  civil  engineering  students. 

It  is  generally  made  with  a  much  heavier  face  than 
the  old  Roman,  a  usual  proportion  of  width  of  stem 
to  height  being  one  to  sLx,  with  comparatively  very 
light  hair  lines  and  long  serifs.  This  violent  contrast, 
while  it  may  give  some  effect  of  delicacy  or  refinement, 
reduces  greatly  the  legibility  of  the  letter  at  a  distance. 


Figures  14  and  15  contain  the  alphabet  and  numerals 
of  the  Modern  Roman,  drawn  in  a  slightly  expanded 
form,  which  is  more  pleasing  for  ordinary  work  than 
the  compressed  or  even  the  standard  form.  Using  the 
width  of  the  body  stroke  as  a  unit,  the  letters  are  sLx 
units  high,  and  the  width  of  each  letter  is  indicated  by 
the  dimension  in  units.  A  convenient  scale  to  mark 
off  these  dimensions  may  be  made  on  the  edge  of  a 
card  or  strip  of  paper. 

The  order  and  direction  of  strokes  are  indicated  on 
each  letter,  and  should  be  followed  carefully.  As  is 
usual  in  freehand  drawing,  all  vertical  and  inclined 
lines,  and  curved  lines,  are  made  downward,  and  all 
horizontal  lines  from  left  to  right.  The  strokes  of 
each  letter  should  be  studied  and  the  letter  prac- 
tised over  and  over  until  the  student  is  perfectly 
familiar  with  it.  The  Roman  letter  is  diflicult  and 
it  is  only  by  strict  attention  to  details  that  it  can  be 
mastered. 

In  large  letters  an  optical  illusion  similar  to  those 
mentioned  on  page  4  may  be  provided  for.  The 
width  of  the  thickest  part  of  a  cuned  letter,  as  the  O, 
in  order  to  appear  to  be  of  the  same  thickness  as  the 
stem  of  a  straight  letter,  should  be  made  a  very  little 


15 


MODERN    ROMAN 


c    I    a    3   4    s 


v.f- 


I— 4j- 


Hi- 


1 


V 


^ 


l-M 


!2       3| 


r^^ 


H^ It 


l-Mi 


Jt 


■4 


1 


r 


r- 


A    "Hd     ILJ    ^ 


r"^ 


Fig.  14. — Construction  of  Modern  Roman  Letters  and  Figures. 
IG 


MODERN    ROMAN 


0      ■      g      3     ■a      ^     6 


5  2| 


)'      1 


^    rrin    rii 


3 


i)^  - 


r±ri      r'-d     rjir\     r^d      rij 


riG.   15. — Construction  of  Modem  Roman  Letters  anil  Figures. 
17 


Letter  Construction 


wider.     This  variation  is  only  "the  width  of  a  line," 
and  must  not  be  exaggerated. 

The  curve  of  the  round  letters  is  not  circular  as  in 
the  Old  Roman.  Taking  the  O  as  typical  the  outside 
line  is  flattened  slightly  at  the  diagonals,  as  if  it  were 
made  up  of  four  curves  at  the  extremities  of  the  axes, 
and  these  connected  by  four  longer  curves,  as  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  1 6.  This  is  characteristic  of  all  the 
curved  letters,  and  the  observance  will  give  a  grace  to 
the  letters  otherwise  not  obtainable. 


Curve  Shape  in  Modern  Roman. 


The  inner  line  is  nearly  straight,  and  connected  to 
the  outer  by  a  transition  curve.  Great  care  must  be 
used  to  avoid  the  crescent  shape  of  Fig.  i6. 

The  appearance  of  the  Modern  Roman  is  marred 
oftener  by  poor  serifs  than  in  any  other  way.  Correct 
and  incorrect  serifs  and  spurs  are  shown  in  enlarged 
form  in  Fig.  17.     This  figure  also  indicates  that  the 


terminal  ball  of  the  J,  2  etc.,  is  a  circle  joined  to  the 
stem  by  a  small  fillet. 

At  (f)  is  shown  the  cusp  or  intersection  of  the 
curves  of  R  and  B,  illustrating  the  rule  that  two 
heavy  strokes  must  never  touch  each  other.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  the  numerals  2,  5,  and  7  are  exceptions 
to  the  rule  that  horizontal  strokes  are  light. 


a 


not 


Fig.  17. — Modern  Roman  Serifs. 

In  practising  the  alphabet  three  horizontal  guide 
lines  should  be  drawn,  the  top,  bottom  and  waist  lines, 
as  shown  in  the  upper  line  of  Fig.  14  and  the  letters 
penciled  lightly  using  the  2H  pencil,  with  sharp  con- 
ical point,  always  adding  the  serifs  and  fillets  last. 
In  inking  smaller  sizes,  the  same  order  of  strokes 
should   be  observed.     For  larger  letters   the  inking 


18 


Letter  Construction 


should  be  done  as  described  for  the  Old  Roman, 
working  out  from  a  broad  rough  stroke  between  the 
lines. 

In  letters  smaller  than  1/4"  the  fillets  on  the  serifs 
of  the  body  strokes  become  so  small  that  it  is  best  to 
omit  them. 

In  very  careful  map  work  and  the  like  the  straight 
lines  are  sometimes  inked  with  the  ruling  pen,  and  the 
curves  added  freehand. 

THE  COMMERCIAL  GOTHIC 

There  is  an  unfortunate  confusion  about  the  term 
"Gothic"  as  applied  to  letters.  All  paleographers 
and  art  students  apply  the  word,  rightly,  to  the 
manuscript  forms  of  the  eleventh  to  the  fifteenth 
centuries,  written  with  a  tilted  pen  and  changing 
from  the  curved  lines  of  the  early  or  round  Gothic 
to  the  angular  of  the  later  forms.  But  in  this  country 
the  word  Gothic  is  taken  universally  by  printers, 
engravers,  lithographers,  and  sign  writers  to  mean 
the  plain  bold  letter  made  with  uniform  strokes  and 
without  serifs.  (In  England  the  letter  is  called  sans- 
serif.)  Since  the  word  is  in  such  general  favor  by 
those  who  use  letters  commercially,  we  have  called 


this  style  "Commercial  Gothic."  It  has  sometimes 
been  called  Egyptian,  and  in  the  U.  S.  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Sun-ey,  it  is  known  as  Block  Letter. 

This  letter  should  be  used  wherever  boldness  and 
legibility  are  of  more  concern  than  finish.  Without 
the  refinement  and  delicacy  of  the  Roman,  it  is  more 
easily  made,  and  in  "single  stroke"  form  is  used 
more  on  working  drawings  than  all  other  styles 
together. 

Figures  18  and  19  show  the  letter  drawn  with  the 
thickness  of  stem  one-sixth  of  the  height,  and  in 
width  a  trifle  expanded.  In  these  plates  a  very 
slight  "spur"  has  been  added.  In  large  brush  or 
pen-made  letters  this  spur  adds  materially  in  re- 
lieving the  stiffness  of  appearance. 

For  very  bold,  heavy  effect,  the  stems  may  be 
made  one-fifth  the  height.  Strokes  much  thicker  are 
not  good  except  in  special  cases. 

This  letter  is  best  drawn  in  outline  first  and  filled 
in  solid,  instead  of  building  it  out  as  the  Roman, 
and  much  care  must  be  exercised  in  keeping  the  stems 
to  uniform  width.  Failure  to  obser\-e  this  rule  results 
in  a  very  unpleasant  appearance,  as  in  Fig.  20. 

The  order  and  direction  of  strokes  for  the  outline 


19 


COMMERCIAL       60THIC 


NHLFETN 

1    1    1    1    1    1                       '^                          '^                                                               d                               4 

0    1     2     3    4    5 

iKM  Aywxi 

Y  Z 

i  4  H  >^' 

Fig.  18. — Spurred  Commercial  Gothic. 
20 


COMMERCIAL.       GOTHIC 


V 


O  Q  C  G  P  P 


UT^     Usi-I     U51-I     U54-I     U5-J 


01     2    3   4    5   6 


R  B  S  8  3  2 

U5-1  UaJ  u^iJ  Iai^  UaiA  v-Al^ 

0  6  9  5  7  & 

U5J  U^U  L^iJ  Uj-J  UiJ  k5i-^ 


Flc.  19. — Spurred  Commercial  Gothic. 
21 


Letter  Construction 


BB 


letter  is  in  general  similar  to  the  Roman  already 
given,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  typical  examples 
analyzed  in  Fig.  21. 

In  the  practice  of  this  letter,  guide  lines  as  shown 
in  the  upper  line  of  Fig.  14  should 
be  drawn. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  O   is 

made  a  trifle  "full"  to  avoid  the 

/ncorrecr  bull's-eye    effect    of   the  exactly 

Fig.  20.  circular  shape.     This  is  just  the 

opposite  of  the  rhomboidal  shape 

of  the  Roman  O  of  Fig.  16. 

SINGLE  STROKE  LETTERS 

By  far  the  greatest  amount  of  lettering  on  draw- 
ings is  done  in  "single  stroke"  or  "one  stroke"  let- 
ters, either  vertical  or  inclined,  and  every  engineer 
must  have  absolute  command  of  these  styles.  The 
ability  to  letter  well  and  rapidly  can  be  acquired  by 
any  draftsman,  but  it  requires  much  careful  practice 
with  strict  attention  from  the  outset  to  the  form  and 
proportion  of  each  letter,  to  the  sequence  of  strokes. 
and  to  the  rules  for  composition. 

The  term  "single  stroke"  does  not  mean  that  the 


entire  letter  is  made  without  lifting  the  pen,  but 
that  the  width  of  the  stroke  of  the  pen  is  the  width 
of  the  stem  of  the  letter.  For  the  desired  height, 
therefore,   a  pen  must  be  selected  which  will  give 


\^\ 


Fig.  :i. — Typical  Order  and  Direction  of  Strokes. 

the  necessary  width,  and  for  Gothic  letters  one 
which  will  also  make  the  same  width  of  line  when 
drawn  horizontally,  obliquely  or  vertically. 

Leonardt's  ball  point  506F  or  516F  will  make  a 
line  of  sufficient  width  for  letters  1/4"  high,  which  is 
as  large  as  would  be  used  on  an  ordinary  working  draw- 
ing. For  3/16"  letters  516EF  or  Gillott's  1032  are 
suitable,  for  smaller  sizes  Hunt's  shot  points,  Gillott's 
1050,  404  and  604  may  be  used. 

For  single  stroke  letters  larger  than  1/4",  the  Pay- 
zant  pens  and  Shepard  pens  are  useful.  The  ruling 
pen  should  never  be  used  for  lettering.  A  coarse  letter- 
ing pen  may  be  made  from  an  old  ruling  pen  by  rubbing 


22 


UPRIGHT     SINGLE     STROKE      GOTHIC 


|i  iH'  L  W  E  T  N'-  N'  iK  M  M' j^  V 
W  X  V  Z  *l  0>Q>C;GOUyL  P 

a  e  s  s;  h  3  2  €>  6  a  S  i 


f/ 


u— /'    £>,--'      >>—/■-'       v'^^      "'^—#'2     i!!=r       'v^'      ->-•''    3>. 

THE  ABILITY  TO  LEITTEIR  NA/ELL  CAN  BE 
ACQUIRED  ONLV  BV  PERSISTENT  AND  CARE- 
FUL    PRACTICE 

ON  WORKING  DRAWINGS  THE!  STYLE!  OF 
LETTERS  IS  USUALLY  OF  THE  SIMPLEST 
CHARACTER,  T  H  El  '^COMMERCIAL  GOTHIC"bE- 
ING    USED    MORE    THAN     ANY    OTHER      STYLE 

LETTERS  IN  WORDS  SHOULD  BE  CLOSE 
TOGETHER,    BUT  WORDS     WELL    SEPARATED. 

THE        LETTERS  llvl        rsiOTES        OM        DF=!/=V\A'- 

IMSS        SHOULD       MOT      BE      LESS      TMAM      OME 
SIXTEENITM  MOF=?         Is/10F^E  TI-I>^M  OME 

EIGHTH       OF^      /XM         irvlCH        IM  HEIC3HT 

THEiSE       l_e:-i — rE:i=?s     /^p?e     n/I/t^de    ii^     /^ 

SOtvlEWH/CO-       EXTEMCDECS        FORrvl 


Fig.  22.^ — Analysis  and  Composition  of  Upright  Gothic. 
23 


Letti'.r  Construction 


its  points  very  blunt  and  grinding  a  smooth  ball  end 
on  them. 

Some  draftsmen  prepare  a  new  writing  pen  by  drop- 
ping it  in  alcohol,  or  by  holding  it  in  a  match  iiame 
for  two  or  three  seconds,  and  some  break  it  in  fur- 
ther by  writing  a  word  or  two  lightly,  on  a  hard  Arkan- 
sas oil  stone. 

Single  Stroke  Vertical  Caps. — The  upright  single 
stroke  "commercial  gothic"  letter  shown  in  Fig.   22 


Fig.  2J. — Position  for  Single  Stroke  Lettering. 

is  a  standard  letter  for  working  drawings  of  all  de- 
scriptions. It  is  the  letter  of  Figs.  18  and  19  with 
lighter   face.     The   analyzed   letters   of  Fig.    22   are 


drawn  to  such  proportion  that  roughly  each  fills  a 
square  space.  In  the  proportion  of  width  to  height 
a  general  rule  is  that  the  smaller  the  letters  the  more 
extended  they  should  be.  A  low  extended  letter  is 
more  legible  than  a  high  compressed  one  and  at  the 
same  time  makes  a  better  appearance.  This  letter  is 
seldom  used  in  compressed  form.  Before  commencing 
the  practice  of  this  alphabet,  some  time  should  be  spent 
in  preliminary  practice  to  gain  control  of  the  pen.  It 
should  be  held  easily  as  in  writing,  the  strokes  drawn 
with  a  steady,  even  motion,  and  a  slight  uniform 
pressure  on   the   paper,   not   enough   to  spread   the 


^EE.  /////\\\\\CCC3DD 


Fig.  24. — Practice  Strokes. 


nibs  of  the  pen.  For  the  first  practice,  draw  in  pencil 
the  top  and  bottom  guide  lines  for  1/4"  letters 
and  with  a  516F  ball  pointed  pen  make  directly  in 
ink  a  series  of  vertical  lines,  drawing  the  pen  down 
with  a  finger  riioy^ment  in  the  position  shown  in 
Fig.  23.  This  one  stroke  must  be  practised  until  the 
beginner  can  get  lines  vertical  and  of  equal  weight. 


24 


Lettkr  Construction 


Remember  that  it  is  drawing,  not  writing,  and  that 
all  the  flourish  movements  of  the  penman  must  be 
avoided.  It  may  be  found  difficult  to  keep  the  lines 
vertical,  if  so,  direction  lines  may  be  drawn,  as  in 
Fig.  23,  an  inch  or  so  apart  to  aid  the  eye.  It  is 
ruinous  to  the  appearance  of  upright  letters  to  allow 
them  to  slant  forward.  A  slight  backward  slant  is 
not  so  objectionable,  but  the  aim  should  be  to  have 
them  vertical.  When  this  stroke  has  been  mastered, 
the  succeeding  strokes  of  Fig.  24  should  be  taken  up. 
These  strokes  are  the  elements  of  which  the  single 
stroke  letters  are  composed.  After  sufficient  prac- 
tice with  them,  they  should  be  combined  into  letters 
in  the  order  of  Fig.  22,  penciling  in  one  pattern  letter 
and  numbering  its  strokes,  then  drawing  directly 
in  ink  several  beside  it.  p-  11  Ik  yl  K  I  \  A/  f  / 
Care  must  be  taken  to    C  PI  M  IN  YV    \  L. 

1  11  1  J    •  Fig.  2=;. — Too  much  Ink. 

keep    all  angles  and  m-  ^ 

tersections  clean  and  sharp;  getting  too  much  ink  on 

the  pen  is  responsible  for  appearances  of  the  kind 

shown  in  Fig.  25. 

Single    Stroke    Inclined    Capitals. — The    single 

stroke  letter  inclined  to  a  slope  of  between  Go  and  70° 

is   preferred    by   perhaps   a   majority  of   draftsmen. 


Professor  Follows  in  his  dictionary*  says:  "The 
writer  believes  that  for  mechanical  drawing,  sloping 
lettering  is  better  than  vertical.  An  argument  used 
by  those  who  favor  vertical  lettering  is  that  there  is 
only  one  vertical  as  against  any  number  of  slopes, 
and  that  it  should  therefore  be  easier  to  teach  and 
get  uniformity  with  the  vertical  lettering.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  probably  easier  to  get  a  suffi- 
ciently uniform  slope  than  a  sufficiently  exact  vertical, 
because  a  very  slight  deviation  from  the  vertical  is 
noticeable.  In  the  average  mechanical  drawing 
there  are  so  many  truly  vertical  lines  to  compare  with 
that  the  eye  more  readily  detects  a  deviation  from  the 
vertical  than  from  any  given  slope.  Then,  again,  the 
sloping  lettering  stands  out  more  clearly  by  contrast  with 
the  vertical  and  the  horizontal  lines  of  the  drawing." 

The  order  and  direction  of  strokes  for  the  capitals 
of  this  form  are  the  same  as  in  the  upright  form,  but 
these  letters  are  usually  not  extended. 

A  common  slope  for  the  inclined  letters  is  to  the 
proportion  of  2  to  5,  giving  an  angle  of  68° -|-,  which 
may  be  made  by  laying  off  two  units  on  a  horizontal 
line  and  five  on  a  vertical  line.     Triangles  of  67  1/2° 

*  Universal  Dictionary  of  Mechanical  Drawing.     G.  H.  Follows.  1906. 


25 


INCLINED    SINGLE    STROKE    GOTHIC 


Order  and  d'fVCf'On  of  sfrvi'es  used  Ib^  'ef'ers^  or  higher 


II  ML  EF  TMiN/'KmhMhAW 

^        ^  /  i j"  '^  I     '-air  '   "^ 

WtMumvmMwimx/wyff^'z 


O/zfer  arrd  dtnec/ion  ofsfrokes  for  smaller  /effers 


jiMiLE'P  TMMKmf-mmywx  yzm  o>  o  c 

Compressed  /br^r?  ^ 

AmCDEF6HIJKLMNOP0RSTUVWXYZ  abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 


Fig.   27. — Analysis  of  Strokes  for  Single  Stroke  Inclined  Caps  and  Lower-case. 

26 


Letter  Construction 


are  sold  by  the  dealers  and  are  very  convenient.  In 
rapid  lettering  some  find  it  easier  to  use  a  somewhat 
greater  slant  (as  much  as  60°). 

If  a  rectangle  containing  a 
flexible  O  should  be  inclined, 
the  cur\'e  would  take  the  form 
illustrated  in  Fig.  26,  sharp  in 
the  upper  right-hand  and  lower  left-hand  corners, 
and  stretched  flat  in  the  other  two  corners.  It  is 
the  observance  of  this  characteristic  that  is  the  secret 
of  success  with  the  inclined  letters. 


D  6  9 

Fig.  28. — Relationships. 

Fig.  28  illustrates  this  principle  with  the  curs-es  used 
in  the  S  family,  showing  the  directions  of  the  major  axes 
of  the  ellipses  formed.  The  close  relationship  of  the 
B ,  S,  8  and  3  should  be  noted.  The  second  line  of  Fig. 
28  shows   the   relationship  of   the  o,  6,  and  9.     The 


cipher  it  will  be  noted  is  narrower  than  the  O,  and  the 
back-bone  of  the  6  and  9  are  made  of  the  same  ciu-\-es. 


Fig.  29. — Practice  Strokes,  witii  Direction  Lines. 

INCLINED  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  ARE 
USED  BY  MANY  DRAFTSMEN  IN 
PREFERENCE  TO  THE  UPRIGHT 
SINGLE  STROKE  CAPITALS. 

KEEP  THE  LETTERS  CLOSE  TO- 
GETHER AND  THE  STROKES  UNI- 
FORM IN  SLANT  AND  THICKNESS. 

Fig.  30. — Composition. 

In  practising  the  inclined  letters  the  top  and  bottom 
guide  lines  should  be  drawn,  and  a  sufficient  number 


27 


Lettkr  Construction 


of  direction  lines  at  the  given  angle  to  keep  the  letters 
to  a  uniform  slope.  This  slope  must  be  observed 
with  particular  care  in  the  case  of  the  letters  with 
sloping  sides  as  ^4,  11',  etc.,  whose  lines  must  make 
ecjual  angles  on  each  side  of  the  direction  line,  as 
shown  in  Figs.  27  and  29.  Fig.  30  illustrates  the 
appearance  of  this  letter  in  paragra]:ih  composition. 

Single  Stroke  Inclined  Lower-case. — Thus  far 
our  discussion  has  been  entirely  on  capital  letters. 
The  minuscule  or  lower  case  letters  of  the  Roman 
and  upright  gothic  are  very  rarely  used  on  working 
drawings  because  of  the  difficulty  of  execution.  It  is 
desirable,  however,  to  have  a  lower-case  letter  for  notes 
on  drawings  on  account  of  the  increased  legibility, 
as  we  read  words  by  their  word-shapes  and  are  more 
familiar  with  these  shapes  in  lower-case  letters. 
Paragraphs  printed  entirely  in  capital,  letters  are 
monotonous  in  form  and  hard  to  read.  The  one 
letter  to  use  for  this  purjiosc  is  the  single  stroke  in- 
clined letter,  called  the  Reinhardt  letter  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Charles  W.  I^einhardt  of  the  Engineering  News 
whose  work  has  for  a  generation  been  admired  by 
draftsmen,  and  who  first  reduced  the  style  to  a  system 
in  his  well-known  book  "Lettering  for  Engineers." 


This  letter  is  the  minuscule  reduced  to  its  lowest 
terms,  omitting  all  unnecessary  hooks  and  appendages. 
It  is  very  legible,  and  after  its  swing  has  been  mastered 
can  be  written  very  fast.  These  letters  are  used 
with  the  inclined  gothic  capitals  and  are  made  with 
bodies  two-thirds  the  height  of  the  capitals,  the 
ascending  letters  hdfltkll  extending  to  the  height  of 
the  capitals  and  the  descenders  gjpqy  dropping  the 
same  distance  below. 


Fig.  31. — Basis  of  Reinhardt  Letter. 

All  the  letters  of  the  Reinhardt  alphabet  are  based 
on  two  elements — the  straight  line,  and  the  ellipse 
whose  conjugate  axes  are  the  slope  line  and  the 
horizontal  line,  and  consequently  whose  major  axis 
is  about  45°.  Fig.  31.  The  general  direction  of 
strokes  is  always  downward  or  from  left  to  right,  and 
their  order  is  given  in  the  last  three  lines  of  Fig.  27. 

The  effect  of  this  letter  depends  almost  entirely 


28 


Design  and  Composition 


on  the  uniformity  of  slope,  and  constant  care  must  be  the  sharp  extremities.     Then  take  up  the  letters  as 

given  in  Fig.  27,  noticing  the  order  and  direction  of 
strokes,  and  swinging  them  to  a  mental  count  of  one, 
two,  one,  two. 

Fig.  34. — Fractions. 

As  soon  as  the  shapes  of  the  letters  have  been  learned 
in  this  way  the  entire  practice  should  be  devoted  to 
their  composition  into  words  and  sentences.  In  this 
the  one  rule  must  be  remembered — Keep  llie  letters 
close  together,  and  with  full,  uniform  bodies.  The 
beginner's  invariable  mistake  is  to 


observed  to  keep  the  strokes  parallel. 

BeginnersVardcssMisUkes 
ahedfhopquvN xys  ^c 

Fig.  32. 

Draw  top  and  bottom  guide  lines,  and  slope  lines, 
and  practice  the  O  as  the  basis  of  the  curved  letters, 

7776'  ''Reinhardf  letter  is  used 
for  notes  on  working  drawings, 
and  can  be  made  very  rapidly.  It  is 
of  especial  value  on  drawings  made 
for  photo  -  reproduction. 


When  necessary,  on  account  of  restricted 
space,  it  may  be  very  much  compressed  and 
still  be  held  clear  and  distinct 

Fig.  ^i. — Composition  (Drawn  by  C.  W.  Reinhardt). 
until  a  certain  rhythm  and  swing  has  been  acquired,  the 
pen  moving  faster  in  the  middle  of  the  stroke  than  at 


cramp  the  letters  and  space  them 
too  far  apart.  Fig.  32.  Words  ^ 
should  be  separated  to  a  distance 
about  equal  to  the  height  of  the 
letter.     Paragraphs  are  always  indented. 


wu 


Fig. 


Fig. 


Ovi 


IS 


an  example  of  spacing  of  letters,  words  and  lines. 
Special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  practice  of  the 
numerals,  getting  them  round  and  full-bodied. 
Fractions  are  made  with  a  horizontal  line  and  extend- 
ing over  the  guide  lines  as  shown  in  Fig.  34. 


29 


ITALICIZED  ROMAN  A.ND  STUMP  LETTERS 


IHLFE  TNKMAVW 

XYZ14  O  Q  CGD  UJPR 

BS83220695577& 

abc  defgh  ijklnnn  opqrst 
uvwxyz  -^  1234567800 


The  stump  letter  is  a  sim- 
plified form  of  the  printer s 
italic,  and  is  much  used  in 
map  drawing,  patent  office 
drawing  and  similar  work. 


Fig.  36. — Inclined  Roman,  with  Stump  Letters  for  Lower-case. 
30 


Letter  Construction 


A  variation  of  the  Reinhardt  letter,  known  as  the 
"pumpkin  seed"  letter  is  preferred  by  some  draftsmen. 
In  it  the  curves  of  abdgpq  are  pointed  instead  of 
elliptical,  as  in  Fig.  35.  The  remainder  of  the  alphabet 
is  the  same  as  the  Reinhardt. 

INCLINED  ROMAN  CAPITALS 

The  inclined  or  italicized  form  of  Roman  capitals, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  36,  is  used  for  water  features  on  maps 
and  as  capitals  for  the  stump  letters  which  follow. 
It  is  made  with  a  fine  flexible  pen,  the  very  small 
sizes  in  one  stroke,  springing  the  pen  for  the  shaded 
lines,  the  large  sizes  by  making  two  strokes  for  the 
stems  and  following  the  same  orders  as  in  Figs.  14 
and  15.  In  letters  less  than  1/4"  high,  brackets  on 
the  serifs  of  the  body  marks  should  not  be  attempted. 
Alternate  forms  of  the  numerals,  2,  5  and  7  are  shown. 

STUMP  LETTERS 

The  stump  letter  is  a  simplified  form  of  the  printer's 
italic,  and  is  much  used  in  map  drawing,  patent  office 
drawing,  and  other  careful  work.  It  is  more  difficult 
than  the  single  stroke  letter  of  Fig.  27  and  requires 


much  more  time  for  its  execution,  consequently  it 
should  not  be  chosen  except  for  display  work.  A^ 
fine  flexible  pen  should  be  selected — for  letters  from 
1-20"  to  i-io"  high,  the  Gillott  290  and  291,  i-io" 
to  2-10"  Gillott  170,  for  larger  ones,  Giilcm_303,.  / 
Except  for  the  smallest  letters,  two  strokeriKould  be/ 
used  for  the  shaded  lines.  In  this,  as  in  all  tht 
slant  letters,  the  first  requirement  is  uniformity  of 
slope  and  width  of  line.  The  hafi-  lines  may  be  made 
either  with. the  same  stroke  as  the  body,  or  added  with 
a  quick  down  stroke.  This  second  method  is  pre- 
ferred by  some  draftsmen  as  it  prevents  the  blur  in  the 
angle  which  sometimes  occurs  with  a  sharp  pen  and 
paper  whose  fibre  is  apt  to  catch. 

The  strokes  of  Fig.  37  should  be  mastered  before 
attempting  to  draw  the  letters. 

mill  uiillo 


I  a 


%i(  l,U^   U   U    U4 

Fig.  37. — Practice  Strokes  for  Stump  Letters. 


31 


CHAPTER  III 


Composition  and  Titles 


After  becoming  familiar  with  the  forms  of  the 
individual  letters  we  are  ready  to  compose  them 
into  words  and  the  words  into  sentences,  and,  as 
one  reads  an  entire  word  or  even  a  group  of  several 
words  at  a  glance,  the  necessity  for  proper  spacing 
of  the  letters  and  words  is  evidently  of  just  as  much 
importance  as  the  correct  formation  of  the  letters. 

LETTERING 


In  this  we  shall  have  to  notice  (i)  the  spacing  of 
letters  in  words,  (2)  the  spacing  of  words,  (3)  the 
spacing  of  lines,  all  of  which  are  design  problems  in 
the  disposition  of  white  and  black,  and  their  suc- 
cessful solution  depends  on  the  artistic  perception 
of  the  draftsman  more  than  on  any  rules  which  might 
be  given. 

In   spacing   letters   in   words   uniformity   of   effect 


is  gained  not  by  spacing  the  letters  at  equal  dis- 
tances apart,  but  so  that  the  areas  of  white  space 
between  the  letters  are  approximately  equal.  This 
makes  it  necessary  to  consider  the  shape  of  each 
letter  in  connection  with  the  following  letter.  Take, 
for  example,  the  word  LETTERING.  In  Fig.  38 
the  letters  have  been  spaced  so  that  the  clear  dis- 

LETTERING 

Fig.  39. 

tances  between  them  are  equal.  The  eflect,  how- 
ever, is  not  uniform;  the  first  letters  appear  much 
farther  apart  than  the  last  ones.  But  if  the  word  be 
spaced  taking  the  shapes  of  the  letters  into  con- 
sideration, the  L,  E  and  T  would  be  set  closer  to- 
gether because  of  the  amount  of  white  space  in- 
cluded between  them,  the  two  T's  still  closer  as 
they  have  a  maximum  of  white  space  under  them. 


32 


Composition  and  Titles 


while  between  the  vertical  stems  I  and  N  would  be 
left  the  widest  space,  and  the  G  would  be  set  a  little 
closer  than  the  IN  as  its  stroke  cun'es  away  from 
the  line  of  the  N. 

Thus  while  no  two  of  the  letters  are  the  same 
distance  apart,  the  word  appears  to  be  uniformly 
spaced. 

A  word  or  line  should  be  sketched  in  very  lightly 
with  all  the  details  of  the  letters  omitted,  the  effect 
studied  and  the  letters  shifted  until  the  appearance 
is  uniform.  When  this  is  satisfactory,  the  lino 
should  be  penciled  more  carefully  and  the  details 
added. 

In  single  stroke  lettering,  the  letters  must  be  kept 
close  together.  The  snap  and  "swing"  of  the  pro- 
fessional draftsman's  work  comes  largely  from  two 
things — keeping  the  letters  full  and  round  and  close 
together,  and  the  strokes  to  a  uniform  slope.  The 
beginner's  invariable  mistake  of  cramping  the  letters 
and  spacing  them  too  far  apart  has  already  been 
mentioned. 

Words  should  be  spaced  so  as  to  be  read  easily 
and  naturally.  The  clear  distance  between  words 
(except    in    compressed    lettering)    should    never    be 


less  than  a  space  equal  to  the  height  of  the  letter 
nor  more  than  twice  this  space. 

For  the  spacing  of  lines,  no  fixed  rules  can  be 
given.  In  the  Old  Roman  the  lines  are  frequently 
drawn  very  close  together,  sometimes  closer  than 
those  in  Fig.  6.  The  clear  distance  between  lines 
of  Old  Roman  may  vary  from  one-third  to  one  and 
one-half  times  the  height  of  the  letter.  In  inscription 
lettering,  it  is  usually  less  than  the  height. 

For  single  stroke  caps  the  space  may  be  from 
three-fourths  to  one  and  three-fourths,  and  for  sin- 
gle stroke  lower  case  and  stump  letters  two  to  three 
times  the  height  of  the  body. 

The  appearance  of  notes  with  several  lines  is 
improved  by  keeping  the  right  edge  as  straight  as 
possible,  as  well  as  the  left.     (See  Figs.  30  and  ^;}.) 

Paragraphs  should  always  be  indented. 

TITLES 

Every  drawing  should  have  a  title,  giving  the 
necessary  information  concerning  it  in  a  style  that 
conforms  to  its  character.  This  information  will, 
of  course,  vary  for  different  classes  of  drawings,  but 
two  items  are  alwavs  necessarv,  the  names  and  the 


33 


Composition  and  Titles 


date.     Even  the  merest  sketch  should  always  be  dated. 

In   general,   the   title  of  a   machine   or  structural 
drawing  should  contain: 

(i)  Name  of  machine  or  structure. 

(2)  General  name  of  parts  (or  simply  "details"). 

(3)  Name  of  purchaser,  if  special  machine. 

(4)  Manufacturer;    company    or    tirm    name    and 

address. 
(5) Date;  usually  date  of  completion  of  tracing. 

(6)  Scale  or  scales;  desirable  on  general  drawings, 
•  often  omitted  from  fully  dimensioned  detail 

drawings. 

(7)  Drafting  room  record;  names,  initials  or  marks 

of  the  draftsman,  tracer,  checker,  approval  of 
chief  draftsman,  engineer  or  superintendent. 

(8)  Numbers;  of  the  drawing,  of  the  order.     The 

filing  number  is  often  repeated  in  the  upper 
left  hand  corner  upside  down,  for  convenience 
in  case  the  drawing  should  be  reversed  in  the 
drawer. 
An  architectural  drawing  would  have  part  or  all 
of  the  following: 

(i)   Kind    of    view — elevation,    plan,    perspective 
(sometimes  put  on  different  part  of  sheet). 


(2)  Name  and  location  of  building. 

(3)  Name  and  address  of  client  or  owner. 

(4)  Date. 

(5)  Scale. 

(6)  Name  and  address  of  architect. 

(7)  Number  (in  the  set). 

(8)  Key  to  materials. 

(9)  Office  record. 

(10)  Signed    approval   of    trustees  or  commission 

for  public  buildings. 
A  map  title  would  contain  as  many  as  necessary 
of  the  following  items: 

(i)  Kind— "Map  of,"  etc. 

(2)  Name. 

(3)  Location  of  tract. 

(4)  Purpose,  if  special  features  are  represented. 

(5)  For  whom  made. 

(6)  Engineer  in  charge. 

(7)  Date  (of  survey). 

(8)  Scale — stated  and  drawn. 

(9)  Authorities. 

(10)  Legend  or  key  to  symbols. 

(11)  North  point. 

(12)  Certilication. 


34 


Composition  and  Titles 


In  each  case  these  items  must  be  "displayed" 
according  to  their  relative  importance  judged  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  persons  who  would  use  the 
drawing,  the  more  important  lines  being  made  prom- 
inent by  the  size  and  arrangement  of  the  letters. 


a^ 


A*toC. 


/» 


\Ca  l.S'oo 

Fis.  40. 
The  position  and  shape  of  the  title  will  depend 
on  the  space  provided  or  left  for  it.  The  lower  right 
hand  corner  of  the  sheet  is  from  long  custom  and 
on  account  of  convenience  in  filing,  the  usual  loca- 
tion, and  in  laying  out  a  drawing  this  corner  is  reserved 
if  possible.  The  shape  is  a  matter  of  design.  The 
commonest  form  is  that  of  the  symmetrical  title 


which  is  balanced  or  "justified"  from  a  center  line, 
and  of  elliptical  or  oval  outline,  as  Fig.  42.  Some- 
times the  wording  necessitates  a  pyTamid  or  inverted 
pyramid  form. 


1  I  AW  or 


'f 


I     1 1    1 1    I   1!   I    1/ 


lAi!.    OlHIIiq 

[  lAfi  Al  111  ({)lllh   IK'IIIK 
[.J  M  M.  ^  ^^  cq 


)S 


f' 


rii  lUi  i|Kij«,   o 


I 


^^ 


aasoo. 


12 


Fig.  41. 

In  designing  a  symmetrical  title  one  would  first 
write  out  the  arrangement  on  a  piece  of  paper  and 
count  the  letters  in  each  line,  counting  a  space  be- 


35 


Composition  and  Titles 


tween  words  as  a  letter,  and,  after  making  allowance 
for  letters  of  different  widths,  as  I  and  W,  marking 
the  middle  of  each  line.  Fig.  40  illustrates  the 
first  layout  for  the  title  of  Fig.  42.     A  vertical  center 

MAP  OF 

CENTRAL   OHIO 

SHOWING 

GAS  AND  OIL  FIELDS 

U.  S.  G.  &  F.  CO. 

COLUMBUS.  O. 


SCALE 


62500 


1912 

Fig.  42. — Symmetrical  TiUe. 

line  is  then  drawn,  and  guide  lines  for  letters  of 
appropriate  size  for  each  line.  The  most  impor- 
tant line  is  then  sketched  in  very  lightly,  commenc- 
ing on  the  center  line  and  working  to  the  right, 
making   the  last  half  of  the  line  first  and  drawing 


■  only  enough  of  the  letter  to  show  the  space  it  will 
occupy.  The  length  of  this  half  should  then  be 
transferred  to  the  other  side  and  the  first  half  sketched 
in.  Some  prefer  to  work  this  half  backward  from 
the  center  line,  but  after  a  little  practice  the  first 

FRONT -ELEVATION 


TER 


DM 


CiARLEJ-P-WCDDJ  •  •ARClilTE.CT 

67^)  WILLIAMJONBV1LDING--CLEVEIAMD 
Fig.  43.— a  Full-panel  Title. 


method  will  be  found  preferable.  After  this  most 
important  line  is  satisfactory  in  size  and  spacing, 
the  other  lines  may  be  executed  in  the  same  way, 
and  the  work  at  this  stage  will  be  as  in  Fig.  41.  The 
effect  should  then  be  studied,  lines  or  letters  shifted 
if  necessary  and  the  title  completed  in  pencil. 

As  a  rule,  all  letters  should  be  inked  entirely  free- 


,3a 


Composition  and  Titles 


hand.  Sometimes,  on  highly  finished  maps  or  draw- 
ings for  reproduction  the  straight  lines  are  ruled 
and  the  curves  drawn  freehand,  or,  for  "large  letters, 
the  curves  may  be  drawn  with  the  compass  or  French 
curve.  To  avoid  blotting,  the  strokes  should  not  be 
filled  in  solid  until  after  the  drawing  has  been  finished. 
The  general  rule,  never  combine  vertical  and  slant 
letters  in  the  same  title,  should  be  observed. 

DETAL  OP  BEAVER  .STREET  ELEV\T10N 

5CALE  J  INCH  =  1  p-OOT 

OFFICE  BUILDING   POR  AMERICAN    BANK  NOTE  CO. 
NEW     YORK    CITY 

KIRBY  PETIT  "•"  GREEN  ARCHITECTS 
37 WtiT  34.".5T  NYC. 

Fig.  44. — "Left  Edge"  Composition. 

The  full  panel  title,  a  variation  of  the  symmetrical 
form,  often  used  in  architectural  work,  is  made  by 
spacing  the  letters  so  that  the  lines  are  of  equal  length, 
no  matter  how  many  letters  each  contains.  Fig.  43 
is  an  example.  The  Old  Roman  is  the  only  letter 
that  permits  of  this  wide  letter  spacing. 

Another  form  often  used  in  architectural  and  other 
work  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  44.  This  form  has  a  dis- 
tinct advantage  in  not  requiring  careful  preliminary 


penciling,  and  is  therefore  of  value  for  quick  sketches- 
Space  fillers  are  sometimes  added  to  give  balance, 
but  they  must  be  handled  carefully  for  artistic  effect. 

Formerly  titles  were  often  made  with  cun-ed  lines 
and  much  elaborate  ornamentation.  These  forms 
are,  happily,  obsolete,  and  any  decoration  or  orna- 


RtSIDCliCC  rOR  DD.WD.PORim 


BUILDING 

/io. 

179 


5CALE: 


OMcmnAn,  OHIO. 


5ID£  ELEVATION 


SHEET 

Alo. 

5 


DATE 
3-13-09 


HOWELL  &■  THOMAS    ARCHITECTS 

COL-SAV.    &     TRUST  -  BLD6.     COLVMBUO,  OHIO. 


Fig.  45. — Boxed  Tide. 

ment  is  now  considered  as  bad  form.  Letters  should 
not  be  drawn  or  shaded  in  an  attempt  to  make  them 
appear  to  have  thickness  or  to  stand  out  from  the 
paper.  Punctuation  marks  are  not  necessary  in  a 
title  except  in  case  of  abbreviations. 

The  title  on  a  working  drawing  is  usually  boxed 


^07  Z^ 


Composition  and  Titles 


off  from  the  drawing  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  45.  In 
large  offices  the  parts  of  this  kind  of  title  which  are 
common  to  all  drawings  are  often  printed  on  the 
tracing  cloth  in  order  to  save  time  in  the  drafting 
room.  Fig.  46  is  the  blank  form  of  a  well-known 
company.  The  originals  of  Figs.  45  and  46  are 
about  five  inches  long,  on  sheets  from  18  to  30  inches. 
A  form  of  title  which  is  growing  in  favor  is  the 
"record  strip,"  a  narrow  strip  marked  off  entirely 
across  the  lower  part  of  the  sheet,  containing  the 
information  reciuircd  in  the  title,  and  space  for  record 
of  orders,  changes,  etc.  The  general  arrangement 
of  such  a  title  is  shown  in  Fig.  47.  In  shop  draw- 
ings it  is  often  printed  in  blank  on  the  paper  or  cloth 
to  be  used. 


The  lettering  on  all  such  titles  is  done  very  quickly 
in  single  stroke,  often  without  preliminary  penciling. 


The  Jeffrey  Mfg.  Co. 

COLUMBUS,    OHIO.    U.  S.  A. 

Engineering  DepBTtment, 

CONVEriHG  ANO  ILEVATINQ  MACHINEHY. 

' 

DIRECTED  ..  

DRAWN 

TRACED     ... 

DATE 

CHECKED  .. 
CORRECT  .. 

„ 

„ 

I'lG.  46. — A  printed  Title  Form. 


2365       I     THE    MERIT   AUTOMOBILE    CO..      CAMDEN.    N.U. 


Scale  6=1' 


DRAWN     5-26-^9 


TRACCO    S'SO-'09 


S.O.     1 6^4  5 

©  Changed  from   /O' 

7-3-'aa 
@  Chanpea  fi-om    I ' 

7-S-b3 


CAR  A-6'e0-09 

DETA/L. 

C-YI-INDBRS 

5j  X  5" 


Fig.  47. — K  Record  Strip. 
3S 


CHAPTER  IV 

Selection  of  Styles 


In  lettering  a  drawing  the  style  selected  and  the 
amount  of  time  spent  in  its  execution  must  be  appro- 
priate to  the  kind  of  drawing.  A  carefully  rendered 
map  or  display  drawing  will  require  careful  lettering 
and  will  permit  of  time  for  its  execution,  while  a 
shop  detail  requires  only  legibility  and  demands  speed. 

For  Architectural  Work. — There  are  two  dis- 
tinct divisions  in  the  architect's  use  of  letters,  the  first, 
Office  Lettering,  including  all  the  titles,  and  notes 
put  on  drawings  for  information;  the  second.  Design 
Lettering,  covering  drawings  of  letters  to  be  executed 
in  stone  or  bronze  or  other  material  in  connection  with 
design. 

The  Old  Roman  is  the  architect's  one  general  pur- 
pose letter,  which  serves  him,  with  few  exceptions,  for 
all  his  work  in  both  divisions.  Its  characteristics 
have  been  fully  discussed  and  illustrated  in  Chapter  II. 

For  titles  on  finished  architectural  drawings  the 
Old  Roman  is  usually  drawn  in  outline,  as  in  Fig.  13. 
Sometimes  emphasis  is  given  by  running  a  center  line 


in  each  stroke  as  in  Fig.  48  giving  it  the  appearance  of 
being  incised. 

For  smaller  titles  and  lettering  on  working  drawings, 
a  single  stroke  Old  Roman,  Fig.  49,  based  on  the 

INCISED -EFFECT 
IS -OBTAINED -BY 
USING-THIRD-LINE 

Z 


J'R 


Fig.  48.— An  Effective  Roman  Letter. 


center  line  of  the  regular  letter  is  much  used  and  is 
very  effective.     It  can  be  made  rapidly  and  may  be 
given  much  of  the  variety  and  beauty  of  its  parent. 
A  good  deal  of  freedom  may  be  taken  with  this 


39 


Selection  of  Styles 


letter  if  it  is  done  with  a  real  regard  and  feeling  for  its 
beauty. 

For  notes  on  architectural  drawings  the  Reinhardt 
letter  is  well  adapted,  as  it  is  simple  and  legible.  The 
key  to  good  form  is  simplicity.  The  day  of  the  wild 
letter  on  which  the  architects  allowed  their  fancy  free 
rein  is  passed.  There  is  an  individuality  in  lettering 
often  as  marked  as  in  handwriting,  but  there  must  be 

ABCDEFGHIJKLAAN 
OPQR5TUVWXYZI; 

Fig.  49. — Single  Stroke  Roman. 

no  grossncss  of  exaggeration,  nor  riot  of  flourishes, 
nor  wandering  of  free  lines. 

JModificatifns  »f  the  proportions,  whli^aare  legiti- 
mate and  sometimes  ])lcasing,  are  often  m^B,  such  as 
the  "high-waistecl'lletters  of  Fig.  50. 

The  architect  slrould  not  attempt  to  desi, 
tions  for  permanent  structures  until  he  is 


mscrip- 

'loroughly 

familiar  with  lette^lt  their  construction  ajig  spacing, 

and  knows  the  character  and  limitations  pf^e  material 


to  be  used.  Letters  on  stone  are  generally  incised, 
or  sunk,  in  V  form,  and  depend  for  their  effect  not  on 
the  outline  but  on  the  shadows  cast  by  the  sides. 
Consec^uently  the  strokes  must  be  wider  than  for  the 
same  effect  when  drawn  on  paper.  This  is  also  true 
for  "scjuare-sunk,"  and  indeed  for  all  letters  which 
depend  on  shadow  instead  of  difference  in  color. 

/X\6CDErQ11!JKl/AriI10 
PQR5T0VV/WXY.^  ^& 

ABCbcrotijjriLnno 

P  ClRoSTU  W  AYZlfc: 

Fig.  50. — Free  Modifications. 

The  construction  of  Figs.  9  and  10  may  be  used  for 
accurate  drawings  for  this  purpose,  keeping  the  diam- 
eters of  fillets  and  curves  as  given,  but  increasing  the 
width  of  the  strokes. 

If  far  above  the  eye  the  letters  will  be  made  taller  in 
proportion  to  their  width  and  with  much  wider  hori- 


4U 


Selection  of  Styles 


zontal  lines  than  the  standard  form,  to  allow  for 
foreshortening. 

In  designing  lettering  for  large  inscriptions,  to  be 
cut  on  public  buildings  for  example,  the  architects 
will  often  draw  the  letters  to  full  size,  each  on  a 
separate  sheet,  and  tack  them  up  on  a  wall  to  study 
the  spacing.  In  very  careful  work  model  letters  are 
sometimes  made  in  plaster  and  studied  in  place. 

One  rule  must  be  remembered — Never  crowd  Old 
Roman. 

Bronze  tablets  are  usually  made  with  raised  letters, 
either  flat-top  or  modeled  round.  The  body  strokes 
of  the  letters  on  the  tablet  illustrated  in  Fig.  96  are 
1:7  1/2,  and  the  hair  lines  2/3  of  this  width.  In 
making  full  size  design  drawings  for  cast  bronze  work, 
a  shrinkage  of  1/8"  in  10"  should  be  allowed. 

The  architect  should  be  familiar  with  the  Uncial 
and  Gothic  letters  as  given  in  the  succeeding  chapter, 
for  use  with  the  appropriate  architectural  styles. 

For  Map  Drawing. — The  style  of  lettering  on  a 
map  will  depend  upon  the  purpose  for  which  the  map 
is  made.  If  for  constructive  purposes,  such  as  a  rail- 
road or  sewer  map,  the  single  stroke  Gothic  for  titles 
and   the   Rcinhardt   for  notes,   are   to  be  preferred. 


For  a  finished  map,  vertical  modern  Roman  for  land 
features,  and  inclined  Roman  and  stump  letters  for 
water  features  should  be  used.  The  well-known 
maps  of  the  Geological  Survey  contain  good  examples 
of  this  kind  of  lettering. 

For  signals,  signs  or  other  lettering  designed  to  be 
painted  in  connection  with  railway  or  other  engineer- 
ing, legibility  is  the  first  requirement,  and  no  letter 
but  the  upright  commercial  gothic  should  be 
permitted. 

For  Shop  Drawings. — On  working  drawings  of 
any  kind  no  time  may  be  wasted  on  lettering.  It 
must  be  legible  and  uniform,  sized  and  placed  well, 
but  executed  rapidly.  The  single  stroke  capitals, 
either  upright  or  inclined,  for  titles,  and  the  Reinhardt 
for  notes  should  be  used  exclusively.  Roman  letters, 
stump  letters,  "geometrical"  letters,  and  shipping 
clerks'  marking  letters  are  all  out  of  plac%. 

On  patent  office  drawings  the  lettering  is  generally 
done  in  stump  letters.  Any  draftsman  who  has 
occasion  to  make  patent  drawings  should  send  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  Washington,  D.  C,  request- 
ing a  copy  of  the  "  Rules  of  Practice,"  which  gives  all 
the  requirements  for  drawing  and  lettering. 


41 


CHAPTER  V 
Letters  in  Design 


The  preceding  chapters  were  written  for  those 
students  and  draftsmen  who  use  lettering  only  as  an 
adjunct  to  the  "graj)hical  language"  of  their  office 
drawings.  Lettering  in  design  is  a  far  wider  field. 
Here  the  designer  uses  lettering  not  only  to  make  a 
statement — to  convey  information  by  the  written 
words — but  for  its  own  inherent  beauty  of  line  and 
composition.  He  uses  it  with  his  ornament,  he  uses 
it  as  ornament,  to  break  a  space  or  to  fill  a  back- 
ground. The  artist  or  decorative  designer  must  then 
not  only  be  familiar  with  the  fundamental  forms 
explained  in  the  previous  chapters  and  the  rules  ui)<)n 
which  they  are  based  but  must  have  at  his  command 
other  historical  and  modern  alphabets  and  know  the 
appropriateness  of  each  for  its  place. 

In  this  chapter  the  principles  and  peculiarities  of 
the  useful  letters  of  different  styles  and  periods  will 
be  considered. 

THE  OLD  ROMAN 

Referring  to  the  historical  outline  of  Chapter  I  it  is 
remembered  that  the  Old  Roman  is  the  parent  of  all 


the  styles,  and  beyond  all  comparison  the  most  useful 
letter  for  the  designer.  It  will  be  used  oftener  than 
all  other  styles  together,  and  it  is  safe  to  recommend 
that  the  student  when  in  doubt  use  Old  Roman. 

The  Old  Roman  letters  have  been  discussed  and 
aiialyzx'd  in  Chapter  II  and  it  will  be  the  first  duty  of 
the  designer  to  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  these 
forms.  An  early  form  is  shown  in  Figs,  i  and  5, 
and  some  Renaissance  forms  in  Figs.  6,  g  and  10. 
These  are  monumental  forms  of  classic  beauty  and 
dignity.  As  a  pen-drawn  letter  the  Old  Roman  admits 
of  much  freer  treatment,  and  in  composition  not  only 
the  position,  but  the  size  and  shape  of  each  letter  is 
considered  with  reference  to  the  adjoining  letters. 
They  must  not  be  tortured  out  of  shape  nor  driven  to 
do  things  they  do  not  want  to  do,  but  once  the  artist 
has  that  real  feeling  of  personal  acquaintance  and 
familiarity,  the  letters  can  be  coaxed  into  doing  almost 
anything  he  wishes  them  to  do.  The  lower  limb  of  a 
letter  may  be  extended  and  the  following  letter,  a 
vowel  usually,   perched   on  it,  the  swash  lines  of  the 


42 


Letters  in  Design 


R  and  Q  may  extend  almost  indefmitely,  the  top  of  a 
T  may  reach  above  the  guide  line  and  allow  letters  to 
play  under  it,  two  letters  may  have  a  common  stroke  , 
round  letters  may  be  linked  together,  serifs  may  run 
into  each  other,  and  feet  may  be  shortened  or  length- 
ened, all  easily  and  naturally  if  the  designer  be  on 
sufficiently  intimate  terms  with  the  family;  but  the 
Roman  in  its  dignity  resents  any  such  familiarity  from 


0,UFbD0UBTv5  -AR^  -Tl^AfToRS  - 
•A^D•MAKi -US -LP^E'TE-QOOD  • 
WE-OFT-MIGHT-WIN-BY- FEARING. 
•TO -ATTEMPT-    -   -^HAJ^PEARi^ 


Fig.  51. — Freedom  in  Composition. 

a  stranger.  To  make  a  letter  larger  or  smaller  than 
its  fellows  with  no  more  apparent  reason  than  the  desire 
for  oddity  is  pure  affectation. 

Fig.  51  illustrates  something  of  the  freedom 
referred  to. 

Old  Roman  letters  should  not  be  stretched  out  in 
extended  form,  but  the  spaces  between  the  letters  may 


be  increased  indefinitely.  They  may  however  be 
condensed  if  lack  of  space  demands  it.  In  condensing, 
the  straight  line  letters  and  narrow  letters  may  be 
compressed  up  to  the  limit  before  the  O  family  have 

(D\PRSEDRQM^ 
V5INGJVCNORAM-6 
(PNJOMDMEI^ 
WH-SQEFRIKDM 

Fig.  52. 

been  squeezed  out  of  round.  The  expedient  of  using 
common  strokes  in  monogram-combinations,  and  of 
linking  the  round  letters  will  often  save  the  required 
space.     Fig.  52  is  an  extreme  example. 

For  careful  work  in  design  the  Roman  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  draivn  letter,  to  be  outlined  and  finished 


43 


Letters  in  Design 


as  has  been  described.  It  may  however  be  ivrillcn 
effectively,  after  the  manner  of  the  old  scribes,  in 
single  stroke  with  a  broad  pen,  such  as  those  of  Fig. 
72,  tilted  at  a  slight  angle  as  shown  in  Fig.  53  and 
turned  for  the  thin  lines  of  M  N  W,  etc.  The  figure 
shows  also  the  little  extra  stroke  used  to  form  the  fillet. 

IIBCE  EM 

//AAFIB 

Fig.  5j. — Broiid  Pen  Roman  Construction. 

After  the  forms  of  the  letters  have  been  learned  it 
is  surprising  how  they  almost  shape  themselves  when 
done  in  single  stroke  with  the  broad  pen. 

Larger  letters  are  built  up  of  two  strokes  for  the 
body  mark,  and  for  very  large  ones  the  full  stroke  of 
the  pen  may  be  made  for  the  thin  lines. 

If  a  reed  pen  is  used  it  may  be  cut  either  scjuare 
across  or  at  a  slant,  to  fit  the  hand  of  the  writer.     Its 


corner  may  be  used   for  such   touches  as  serifs  on 
horizontal  lines,  etc. 

Large  Roman  letters  may  be  made  easily  and  rapidly 
in  single  stroke  with  a  flat  sable  brush  held  in  the  same 
position  as  the  pen. 

roman  -written-  in 
single-stroke- with 
tie;- pen  -turned- for 
thin-l1ne5  -  bgj  qvxy 

Fig.  54. — Broad  Pen  Roman. 
ROMAN  LOWER-CASE. 

The  so-called  Classic  forms  of  the  Old  Roman 
consist  only  of  capital  letters,  and  in  titles,  inscriptions, 
and  designs  calling  for  stateliness  or  dignity  of  compo- 
sition capitals  would  be  used  throughout.  A  para- 
graph or  page  of  solid  caps,  however,  is  not  easily 
read,  as  we  read  words  by  their  shapes  and  are  accus- 
tomed to  these  shapes  in  lower-case  letter  combina- 
tions, hence  in  longer  sentences,  quotations  and  the 


44 


Letters  in  Design 


like,  a  less  formal  effect  and  at  the  same  time  greater 
legibility  is  secured  by  using  caps  and  lower  case. 


m^^^mi  so^^^^  from  which 
M^^M  *°  *^^^  examples  of 
^^^ithis  perfected  Ro- 
man type^  to  wit,  the  works  of 
the  great  Venetian  printers  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  of  whom 
Nicholas  Jenson  produced  the 
completest  and  most  Roman 
characters  from  1470  to  1476, 

—W.  MORRIS. 

Fig.  55. — Jenson  Type. 


Referring  again  to  the  history,  the  Roman  lower- 
case letter  was  the  final  step  in  the  evolution  from  the 
Caroline,  and  reached  its  definite  form  after  the  in- 


vention of  printing,  so  for  models  to  combine  with  our 
Roman  capitals  we  go  back  to  the  type  forms  of  Jenson 
and  the  master  printers  of  the  fifteenth  centurs".  Type 
degenerated  so  steadily  after  that  period  that  William 
Morris  once  exclaimed,  "There  has  not  been  a  decent 
book  printed  since  the  sixteenth  centun,-." 

But  we  have  the  same  freedom  in  our  pen-drawn 
small  letters  as  in  the  capitals,  not  being  limited  by  the 

daLccideefg^nijklmn 
(®pqrisstuvwxyz<S 

Fig.  -lb. — A  Roman  Lower-case. 

size  of  the  type  body  as  arc  the  printers,  and  can  extend 
lines  or  combine  shapes,  giving  an  individuality  to  the 
lettered  page  impossible  to  the  printed  one.  It  is  no 
compliment  to  a  designer  to  say  that  his  lettering  looks 
like  print.  It  should  look  much  better,  or  at  least 
very  different. 

The  body  letters  are  made  from  one-half  to  three- 
fifths  the  height  of  the  capitals,  with  the  ascenders 


45 


Letters  in  Design 


Cap  line - 
Waist  line  - 
Baseline-^ 


pa 


i£"*^ 


cc 

-t"  line 

mno 


pqrstuvwxyz 

Si7ic)le'5tTokeRomarL  writ 
tea  witK  broad  pea  is  a  letter 
oFmuch  piTLctical  value  as  it 
b  DotK  artistic  and  legible. 

Fig.  57. — Broad  Pen  Lower-case. 


equal  to  the  caps  and  the  descenders  slightly  shorter. 
Much  care  and  Judgment  must  be  exercised  in  hav- 
ing the  small  letters  "fit"  the  caps;  the  usual  fault  is 
in  getting  them  too  light.     The  strokes  will  be  thinner 

EUEKE  KAISERLICH 
UnD  k'ONlGLICHE 
MAIEST^T/ALLEB 
CN^DIGSTER  HERR,! 
Eine  Empfindung  beseelt 
unsere  Herzen:  aie  Treue 
zu  Furst  und  Land/w/elche 
seinahrhunderlen  die 

Fig.  58. — A  Light  Face  German  E.itample. 

than  those  of  the  caps  but  are  not  reduced  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  heights,  and  the  bodies  of  the  letters 
will  at  the  same  time  be  a  little  wider  in  proportion 
than     the    corresponding    capitals.     The    principal 


40 


Letters  in   Design 


diiEculty  in  drawing  lower-case  letters  is  in  keeping 
the  page  to  a  uniform  color. 

The  simplest  spacing  for  a  page'  of  lower-case 
composition  is  to  divide  the  sp^^  between  base  lines 
into  three  equal  parts,  making  the  caps  and  ascenders 

A  MODERN  TYPE  FACE 
.  with  a  distinctive,  classic 
beauty,  named  after  a  famous 
old  family  of  art-craftsmen, 
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 

BGHIJKLQSUVWXZ^ 

Fig.  5g. — Delia  Rubbia  Type. 

two-thirds  and  the  bodies  one-third,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
57.  The  dots  on  the  i  and  j  are  on  the  "t  line" 
which  is  half-way  between  the  "waist  line"  and  the 
"cap  line." 

The  letters  of  Fig.  57  are  wTitten  with  a  broad  pen 
held  in  the  same  position  as  for  the  single  stroke 
capitals,  turning  it  when  necessary  for  such  letters 


as  the  w.  Much  practice  must  be  spent  in  composi- 
tion, with  careful  study  of  good  examples,  before 
satisfactory  results  with  lower-case  can  be  obtained. 

Fig.  55  is  a  once  popular  type  face,  Fig.  56  a  free 
pen-drawn  style.  Fig.  58  a  light  face  letter  from  Dr. 
von  Larisch's  "Unterricht,"  and  Fig.  59  a  modern 
type-face  of  classic  beauty. 

The  examples  of  printer's  type  are  given  as  care- 
fully studied  examples  of  the  individual  letters. 
Their  composition  is  not  to  be  copied.  Far  less  is  the 
writer  to  try  to  imitate  their  regularity.  The  charm 
of  the  lettered  page  is  in  its  freedom  and  individuality. 

THE  UNCIAL 
In  historical  order  the  next  letter  for  the  designer  is 
the  Uncial,  although  it  is  the  later  or  Lombardic  form 


Bat!iiiimniiiiiii[in)ix:)[iHH 


Fig.  60. — From  a  German  Bronze. 

that  is  of  particular  value  and  interest.  There  is  not 
in  this  letter  the  fixed  form  of  the  Roman.  It  has 
many    and   wide   variations    developed   by    different 


47 


^mmmmm'i' 


GERIMAN  LJMCI/\J_  = 


L  -^•■l^-J 


FRENCH         UMCIALS 


Fig.  6i. — Two  Practical  Uncial  Forms. 
48 


Letters  in  Design 


scribes   and   in   different   countries,    but   its   general 
characteristics  are  easy  to  remember  and  the  letter  is 


CiHOPftM 


Fig.  62. — Compressed  Uncial. 


Several  practical  working  examples  are  given  in  the 
accompanying  figures.  The  upper  alphabet  of  Fig. 
61  was  drawn  from  German  bronzes,  and  the  lower 


vsaxyz 


Fig.  6;. — E.xtended  Uncial. 


not  difficult  to  draw.     These  letters  are  sometimes  adapted  from  French  sources.     The  normal  square 

called  Versals  from  their  use  on  the  manuscript  page  proportion  of  these  alphabets  may  be  compressed  as 

to  indicate  the  beginning  of  a  section  or  paragraph.  in  Fig.  62  or  extended  as  in  Fig.  63. 

49 


Letters  in  Design 


Fig.  64  is  an  American  tyj^e  form  of  pleasing  design. 
Fig.  65  contains  suggestions  for  treatment  of  orna- 
mented initials,  drawn  from  various  sources.  Much 
of  the  charm  of  such  work,  however,  lies  in  the  color, 
which  cannot  be  indicated  in  black  and  white. 

The  Uncial  bodies  may  be  made  successfully  in 
single  stroke  in  the  same  way  as  the  Roman  letters, 
drawing  the  finer  lines  with  the  corner  of  the  reed, 
or  with  a  finer  pen. 


GSHCQQOQQR 


Fig.  64. — Missal  Type. 

The  Uncial  may  be  used  in  all  caps,  although  some 
regard  must  be  had  for  the  reading  public's  lack  of 
familiarity  with  it.  It  is  apjjropriate  in  ecclesiastical 
work  or  wdth  any  Gothic  design,  and  is  of  particular 
value  for  initials,  and  as  caps  for  Gothic  lower-case 
letters.     Lines  of  Uncial  should  be  kept  close  together, 


Fig.  65. — Ornamented  Initials  from  Manuscriiits. 


50 


Letters  in  Design 


always  closer  than  the  height  of  the  letter.  Fig.  66 
from  the  shrine  of  St.  Simeon  illustrates  the  extreme 
of  this  close  spacing,  and  Fig.  67  is  a  single  stroke 
modern  example  that  is  well  spaced. 


:^.-r;m'^-:rju<fy 


:L:/.:&&m 


^f^m-f}!: 


iur/^mTmi: 


Fig.  66. — Embossed  Silver,  13S0. 

THE  CELTIC 

The  Irish  half-uncial  of  the  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries,  known  in  design  as  Celtic,  is  a  style  that  has 
been  used  recently  with  good  effect.     Many  of  its 


forms  are  obsolete  and  rnust  be  modified  to  be  de- 
cipherable, but  it  has  a  primitive  strength  that  com- 

VATGT^  a^s6^^/66^^  6a  bist 
ip  ■hicDcneL/GG'heiliqeT  0)613? 
oe  oem  nBoie/  -zukocnme 
ans  oem  Reic]i/6ein  a3ill6 
Qeschehe  cDie  im  himmeL 
fiLso  fiuch  fiUF  ei^en-  qib 
ans  heare  anseR  TfiqLiches 
BROT  an6  vGRqiB  ans  an^* 

Fig.  67. — From  Dr.  v.  Larisch's  "  Unterricht." 

bines  well  with  the  characteristic  spirals  and  interlace- 
ments of  the  ornament  of  that  period.     Fig.  68  is  a 

y\a:6ccIt)eii^hiLTn 
wnopqRSt7u_;c(^^ 

Fig.  OS. — Celtic  Alphabet.     Book  of  Kells. 

working  alphabet  adapted  from  the  Book  of  Kells 
and  Fig.  69  is  an  example  showing  its  derivation  from 


ol 


Letters  in  Design 


the  Celtic,  by  Mr.  Dwiggins,  one  of  the  artists  success- 
ful with  this  style,  and  whose  work  for  Mr.  Alfred 
Bartlctt,  the  publisher,  is  well  known. 


o 


|N£  da^,  with  life  and 
heaRUT ^ 


Is  more  than  time  enough  to 
find  a  woR^d .  ldwell 

I'lG.  6y. — Ii\'  W".  A.  Dwiggins. 
THE  GOTHIC 

The  general  term  Gothic  is  given  to  the  manuscript 
letters  of  the  eleventh  to  the  fifteenth  centuries.  They 
are  essentially  "written"  letters  made  with  one  stroke 
of  the  pen,  as  distinguished  from  Roman  and  Uncial 
which  may  be  called  "drawn"  letters.  Their  lower- 
case changes  from  the  Round  Gothic*  following  the 
Caroline,  to  the  pointed  Gothic  or  "biackletter"  of 
the  twelfth  and  following  centuries. 

The  biackletter  as  a  printing  type  was  gradually 

*  The  name  proposed  by  Mr.  De  Vinne. 


turmun^icmralcm*  , 
^imc  accepwte  famfWumi 
m(ftticoft(tttOttc$  et|o(otau| 
jiimncmtponcmfuperalta! 
iJtmumDimlo$*6(6na*  i 
Sanac  ctmt)iuit)ucmmwt5 
jupplor  muocotio*  ^ 
9ototct)mmpatr(mt 
afjimmctfpirttulon^ 

ientglouatttcoctmtam  nW 
ic(?atcm:mc0t)cu$t)mi$:et 
nocflalm$pc(a:tc:aic$at>o 

Fig.  70. — Gothic  Page  by  Albrecht  Diirer,  1515. 


52 


Letters  in    Design 


displaced  by  the  Roman,  and  by  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury Germany  was  the  only  country  still  using  Gothic. 
As  is  well  known  that  country  now  uses  Roman  for 
scientific  publications,  but  adheres  to  the  illegible 
©erman  ^ractur  as  the  popular  type. 

The  letter  generally  known  as  Wih  lEngltsI) 
is  to  the  ordinary  reader  the  most  familiar  style  of 
Gothic.  Its  bristling  angularity  shows  it  to  be  a  late 
form.  The  capitals  of  these  later  forms  become  more 
compKcated  and  weak  in  design,  and  their  only 
advantage  is  that  in  such  work  as  engrossing  they 


may  be  made  without  changing  the  direction  of  the 
pen.  For  all  good  design  the  stronger  Uncial  caps 
should  be  used  with  the  Gothic  lower-case.  One 
absolute  rule  must  be  obsen-ed — Never  use  all  caps 
in  Gothic, 

The  Gothic  is  ^Titten  with  a  broad  pen  tilted  about 
45°.  Either  a  reed  pen  or  a  steel  "round-writing" 
pen  may  be  used.  The  steel  pens,  of  which  the 
"Sonnecken"  are  the  best,  are  usually  sold  in  sets 
of  eleven  numbered  in  half  sizes  from  i  to  6.  When 
used  alone  they  will  only  carry  sufhcient  ink  without 


riiiiiiii!iriiiiriWiPitiTi!iiiiiiyiii!i.aii!iTi.iiii»iaifMinin'ii^^^ 


KUMiULiNtfliiiiuiiiniiiairiiiTilTi^^ 


Fig.  71. — A  German  Bronze,  1514.     (Weimar.) 
53 


Letters  in  Design 


blotting  for  one  or  two  strokes.  A  brass  clip  is 
sometimes  sold  with  them,  l)ut  a  more  satisfactory 
ink  holder  may  be  made  of  a  rubber  band  added  as 
shown  in  Fig.  72.  The  ink  is  JiUed  behind  the  rubber 
on  the  under  side  of  the  pen. 


Fig.  72. — Steel  and  Reed  Pens,  with  Ink  Holders. 

The  reed  pen  is  much  more  comfortable,  as  well 
as  better  artistically.  It  is  cut  to  shape  with  a  sharp 
penknife  or  narrow  blade  surgeon's  scalpel  and  an 
ink  holder  of  annealed  watch  spring  bent  and  in- 
serted as  in  Fig.  72.  English  or  Japanese  reeds  are  the 
most  satisfactory,  although  those  from  India  are  thicker 
and  harder. 

Quill  pens  made  from  the  wing  feathers  of  turkey 


or  goose  are  sometimes  used  for  smaller  writing,  but 
the  average  student  has  more  trouble  cutting  a  (|uill 
than  a  reed. 

The  pen  is  held  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  73,  and  the 
whole  secret  is  to  maintain  this  position  and  angle 


Fig.  73. — Position  for  Gothic  Writing. 

throughout,  whatever  the  direction  of  the  stroke. 
The  first  practice  should  be  the  drawing  of  the  ele- 
ments in  Fig.  74.  When  these  are  mastered  letter- 
ing in  Gothic  will  be  found  to  be  easy  and  interest- 


54 


Letters  in  Design 


ing.  Select  a  pen  as  large  as  No.  i  1/2,  rule  guide 
lines  three-eighths  of  an  inch  apart  (ordinary  ruled 
writing  paper  will  serve  very  well),  add  some  vertical 
direction  lines  and  practice  stroke  i  until  it  can  be 
made  confidently,  always  vertical  and  with  its  ends 
cut  off  clean  at  45°. 

Fig.  74. — Practice  Strokes  for  Gothic  Writing. 

When  this  motion  has  been  mastered,  practise  the 
strokes  numbered  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  a'nd  7,  which  are  the 
elements  of  which  the  small  letters  are  composed,  then 
combine  them  into  letters  as  shown  in  Fig.  75.  The 
terminal  blocks  on  the  lower  end  of  such  letters  as 
the  "i"  are  squares,  made  by  lifting  the  pressure 
from  the  pen,  and  setting  it  back  as  shown  in  Fig.  74, 
and  the  spikes  of  the  angles,  if  used,  may  be  made 
with  a  little  side  slip  of  the  pen  while  the  stroke 
is  being  made. 

In  combining  these  letters  into  words  the  one  re- 
quirement is  to  keep  the  letters  close  together,  the 


*  ♦ 


space  between  letters  wherever  possible  being  just  the 
same  as  the  space  between  strokes  of  the  letters,  which 
in  turn  should  not  be  much  if  any  more  than  the  width 
of  the  stroke.  A  printed  page  of  text  letters  is  al- 
ways unsatisfactory,  because  the  letters  cannot  be  set 

l^fi|fl)p|fte  dose  tD0flbfp 

Fig.  75. — Analyzed  Gotliic  Lower-case. 

sufficiently  close,  and  because  of  the  machine-made 
exactness.  It  lacks  the  irregularity  and  spontaneity  of 
the  written  page. 

An  alphabet  of  round  forms  similar  to  those  used  in 
Fig.  70  is  given  in  Fig.  76.     The  order  of  strokes  will 


55 


Letters  in  Design 


be  evident  after  practicing  the  angular.  On  account  of 
the  variety  in  combination  this  letter  makes  a  more 
interesting  page  than  the  angular  form. 

The  uncial  capitals  have  already  been  recommended 
for  use  with  the  Gothic  lower-case,  as  being  much 
stronger  in  design  than  the  Gothic  capitals,  but  sev- 
eral forms  of  the  latter. are  given  in  Figs.  79,  80  and 
81  and  the  order  of  strokes  for  the  typical  letters 
is  shown  in  Fig.  77.     They  may  be  made  with  the  same 

I  '        Fig.  76. — Gothic  Alphabet.     (After  Durer.) 

pen  as  the  small  letters,  making  the  small  letters 
three-fifths  to  two-thirds  the  height  of  the  capitals. 
If  the  capitals  are  arranged  in  their  family  groups, 
their  forms,  which  appear  complicated,  can  be  remem- 
bered without  trouble.  In  the  O  family  the  C  is  the 
foundation  letter,  and  from  it  the  G,  O,  Q,  T,  and  one 
form  of  E,  U  and  W  are  developed  as  shown  in  Fig.  78. 


Similarly  B,  H,  I,  K,  L  and  R  are  closely  related,  all 
having  the  same  beginning  strokes. 

The  alphabet  of  Fig.   79  is  a  usual  form  of  Old 
English.     In  this  th^  spikes,  hairlines  and  flourishes 


'3-     -3'      3 

Fig.  77. — Typical  Gothic  Capitals  Analyzed.  j 

are  added  with  a  line  pen  after  the  page  has  been  writ- 
ten, p'ig.  80  is  a  simpler  form,  written  without  re- 
touching, and  suitable  for  rapid  engrossing  and  similar 
work. 

Fig.  7S. — Family  Groups. 

Fig.  81,  adapted  from  the  tomb  of  Richard  II,  is  a 
letter  of  much  beauty,  and  popular  among  designers, 
although  not  so  well  known  and  consequently  not  so 
legible  to  the  general  reader. 


56 


Letters  in  Design 


Fig.  82  is  an  old  form  of  Fractur  or  "  German  Text," 
which  may  be  of  occasipnal  value. 

The  paramount  desii^'  in  the  use  of  Gothic  in  design 
is  for  blackness,  i.e.,  richness  and  "color,"  in  effect. 
Words  should  be  separated  only  enough  for  legibility, 


<-r/^    (rf{   qr'^    rrfj  -T^^lV  ^'^  /Vl\  Words  should  be  separated  only  enough  tor  legibili 


i^mmlUiiiPllili^'iiti'  ^^^  jj^^^  ^^^  ^p^^g^  ^jdely.     Short  lines  are  often 

^  ^  filled  out  with  space  fillers  of  spots  or  running  figures 

Tff^'fl  '^  "t  O  1^  /t  ^li'7'0  ClfT  *°  ^^'°'^'^  ^">'  ^^'^'^'^  "holes"  on  the  page. 
int   M^  l/!Jv    ♦vPi'O'^U  Flourishes   on   the ' ascenders   and   descenders   are 

>5J  characteristic  of  the  later  Gothic,  and  may  be  used 

Fig.  79.— "Ofd  English."  judiciously  with  good  effect. 

57 


Letters  in  Design 


The  Gothic  is  essentially  a  letter  for  ecclesiastical 
and  other  serious  work,  and  its  misplaced  or  inappro- 
priate use  is  a  grave  mistake. 


UIDIi 


Fig.  8i. — English  Gothic.     (Westminster  Abbey,  1400.) 

Although  Gothic  is  easier  than  Roman,  it  is  worse 
maltreated  by  amateurs  and  inexpert  designers,  and 
impossible  things  in  initials  and  designs  are  accepted 


as  good  or  allowed  to  pass,  where  equally  poor  Roman 
would  be  immediately  condemned. 

The  beautiful  letters  of  Albrechl  Diircr,  Fig.  70,  are 
worth  careful  study.     In  the  original,  which  is  twice 


m^^^^^ 


Fig.  82.— Old  "German  Te.\t." 

the  size  of  this  reproduction,  the  initial  and  the  two 
lines  just  above  it  are  in  red,  as  are  also  the  spacing 
lines. 

ITALIC  AND  SCRIPT 

Thus  far  all  the  letters  considered  in  this  chapter 
have  been  ujiright  forms.     In  the  period  of  the  Italian 


58 


Letters  in  Design 


Renaissance  some  of  the  historians  and  scribes,  prob- 
ably from  the  habit  of  writing  fast,  acquired  a  slanted 
writing,  which  became  much  the  fashion.  When 
Aldus  Manutius  in  the  sixteenth  century  cut  the  first 
font  of  inclined  type  he  selected  a  carefully  written 
manuscript  of  Petrarch  from  which  to  model  it.     In 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO 
PQRSTUVWXYZ& 

abcdefglnjklmnopqrstuvwxyz 

Fig.  83.— Italic. 

its  stiff  est  form  now  Italic  is  simply  an  inclined  Roman, 
such  as  Fig.  36. 

Script,  in  lettering,  is  a  freer  inclined  or  sometimes 
vertical  letter  showing  its  origin  from  the  cursive  or 
written  form.  For  the  designer  the  so-called  French 
Script  of  the  period  of  the  Louis,  a  letter  full  of  quaint- 
ness  and  grace  is  most  interesting  and  valuable,  as  it 
admits  of  a  freedom  of  treatment  that  gives  individual- 


ity to  work  in  perhaps  greater  degree  than  any  other. 
Its  effect  is  the  e.xact  opposite  of  Gothic,  giving  light- 
ness for  blackness  and  caprice  for  dignity.  The  free 
ends  of  the  unaccented  strokes  in  the  capitals  become 

aa 


'e/^m/KL  mnop 

grsiuiiMxyx^  &S-&0 

Fig.  84. — French  Script. 

swash  lines  which  often  tie  up  with  each  other  and 
with  the  ascenders  and  descenders  of  the  small  letters; 
but  the  curves  must  be  spontaneous.  A  labored 
effect  is  fatal. 

A  general  rule  has  been  stated  that  styles  of  different 
slopes   should   not  be   used   together.     The   notable 


59 


Letters  in  Design 


exception  to  this  rule  is  in  the  case  of  Old  Roman  and 
Script  used  in  combination  in  what  is  sometimes  called 
Colonial  Composition,  when  the  Roman  is  used  for  the 
display  words  and  Italic  or  Script  for  the  less  important 
words  and  lines.  Fig.  97  by  Mr.  Seymour,  is  an 
artistic  example. 


abcdaf^nvj^Imnopgrs/t 

Fig.  S5. — Script,  by  RudoLf  Koch. 

Italic  and  Script  may  be  used  in  all  caps  or  caps  and 
lower-case. 

In  practising  inclined  letters  such  as  Figs.  83,  84 
and  85,  slant  direction  lines  should  always  be  drawn 


as  explained  on  page  27.  The  angle  of  slant  varies 
widely  both  in  historical  and  modern  examples  and  is 
a  matter  of  individuality.  Some  are  only  a  few  degrees 
ofT  the  perpendicular,  others  are  nearly  30  degrees. 
The  2  to  5  slojje  mentioned  on  page  25  is  a  pleasing 
average.     If  the  Roman  has  been  well  mastered,  the 

le  forma  fe  SSonfieif  eines  ^uc6jfaben 

bei  denkbar  gunjiigjjem  ^nfc6faJJ  an 

^einen  TlacHbar  im  ^ori=  und  Satjbifd 

giebt  den  ^afifiab  fur  den  (cunflferfc/ien 

^ert  einer  Scfirifi,  die  dabei  afs  Qanzes 

kfar  und  uberfichtfidj  zu  fefen  fein  muf. 

Fig.  S6. — Script,  by  Heinrich  Wieynk.     (Larisch.) 

italic  letter  will  not  be  difficult,  but  the  script  will 
require  much  practice,  probably  with  discouraging 
results  before  the  curves  will  come  smoothly. 
'  The  heights  of  the  lower  case  letters  are  made  in 
the  same  proportion  as  the  upright  lower  case,  but 
their  widths  are  somewhat  narrower. 

There  must  be  careful  discrimination  and  restraint 
in  order  that  the  flourishing  shall  not  be  overdone. 


60 


Letters  in  Design 


Fig.   103  is  an  appropriate  and  clever  example  of 
script  in  design. 

"ART  NOUVEAU" 

Under  this  general  head  we  have  classified  all  those 
variations  which  have  been  developed  in  the  modern 


0    (^ 


\> 


{IIWOPQI 


Fig.  87. — A  Stencil  Form. 

school  of  "secessionists,"  particularly  in  Germany. 
Using  the  old  forms  as  a  basis  a  new  life  has  been 
given  them  in  their  adaptation  in  the  characteristic 
style  of  those  artists,  who  appreciate  so  thoroughly  the 
value  of  letters  as  ornament. 

The  apparently  free  or  formless  character  must  not 


be  taken  as  a  license  for  carelessness.  The  lines  of 
the  letters  have  been  studied  with  the  same  seriousness 
as  the  apparently  free  lines  of  the  characteristic  orna- 


:VWXY 


Fig.  88.— .\  Stencil  Form,     (.\fter  Gras.set.) 

ment  of  this  school,  which  have  their  "points  of  inter- 
est" and  rules  of  composition  definitely  established. 

In  range  these  modern  letters  e.xtend  from  forms  but 
slightly  modified  from  the  historical,  through  forms  of 
good  design  but  not  so  easily  legible  because  of  their 
newness  and  one's  consequent  lack  of  familiarity  with 


Gl 


Letters  in  Design 


them,  tp  weird  conceptions  inspired  only  by  tlie  wild 
desire  for  novelty. 


C7yXTnP:6(ITenBERO 


;sYMPHoi)Y;av;mTfiy 


KeiiVfiR!Wf.liBYHMn 


m 

m 


RlD0tJFQ;rflRPi;Z18KHI 


Fig.  89. — An  Uncial  Adaptation.     (After  Otto  Hupp.) 

^BCPCFGHIJ 

r  IG.  90. — A  Free  Uncial  Adaptation. 

The  modern  forms  of  real  value  are  all  designed 
with  an   intimate  acquaintance  and  regard   for  the 


|lmigun^ettccr3)cnkcr  m^t 

Fig.  91. — Gothic,  by  Rudolf  Koch.     (Larisch.) 


TT.GcoK^cyXuuiol.  EUtJ  esX  0'\m  se%^- 
meIt^fn.\ncItcnlCll^mo^eKne  ct  poascOc 
une  iiw>i\>i<)iu\lilc  hic5  inM'quec.     Lcs 
lijjncs  inleKKompues  <^utflnel^Icn^  dc 
bcMicoup  ccfef feT f e $t  $t  le  ^ 

Fio.  92. — In  the  Style  of  George  Auriol. 


<9^  <0^  ®A  tf)^ 
*"  V  ^w  ^w  ^\> 


02 


Letters  in  Design 


historical  forms.  Figs.  87  and  88  are  modern  adapta- 
tions of  Roman  in  stencil  form,  Figs.  89  and  90  show 
their  derivation  from  the  Uncial,  91  is  a  modern  Gothic 
and  92  a  cursive  or  script  form. 

Fig.  93,  an  original  alphabet  by  Mr.  Hunter  of 
East  Aurora,  is  strongly  Viennese.  It  is  shown  in 
composition  in  Fig.  98. 

The  tall  letter  of  Fig.  94  is  a  good  practical  form 
which  works  well  in  monograms  and  marks. 


1234^  iWXYZi  6789 


The  "new  art"  letter  naturally  suggests  itself  for 
application  in  modern  craft  work  in  metals  or  leather, 
in  carding,  stenciling  or  needlework,  and  in  posters 
and  advertising,  but  its  adoption  in  any  design  must 
be  considered  carefully.  An  inappropriate  use  will  be 
offensive,  and  sometimes  even  a  correct  and  appropriate 
use  will  be  criticized  by  persons  who  although  pos- 
sibly incapable  of  judging,  feel  that  they  are  being 
imposed  upon. 


Fig.  93. — By  Dard  Hunter. 


Fig.  94. — A  Compressed  Form. 


63 


CHAPTER  VI 


Design  and  Composition 


For  the  general  designer  or  decorative  artist  the 
designing  of  lettering  does  not  mean  the  invention  of 
new  shapes  for  the  letters,  it  means  simply  the  selec- 
tion of  suitable  styles  and  their  composition  into 
pleasing  form.  The  general  shapes  were  designed 
long  ago,  and  it  would  be  inordinate  presumption  for 
an  artist  to  create  a  new  alphabet  and  through  his 
design  to  say  to  the  public:  "This  is  my  letter,  you 
must  learn  to  read  it." 

Mr.  Lewis  F.  Day,  the  English  designer  and  author, 
said:*  "There  are  two  conditions  on  which  the  artist 
may  be  permitted  to  tamper  with  the  alphabet:  what- 
ever he  docs  ought,  in  the  hrst  place,  to  make  reading 
run  smoother,  and,  in  the  second,  to  make  writing 
satisfactory  to  the  eye." 

No  real  letter  shapes  are  ever  invented,  they  are  all 
evolutions.  The  new  work  of  the  continental  artists 
shows  a  freshness  and  variety  and  beauty  of  line,  and 
an  originality  of  design  that  may  in  some  cases  almost 

♦Alphabets  Old  and  New. 


be  called  invention,  but  as  has  been  said  these  men 
are  working  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  his- 
torical forms.  It  is  but  natural  that  in  the  attempt  at 
novelty  some  designs  miss  the  requirement  of  legibility, 
and  others  that  of  beauty,  some  both;  but  such  forms 
are  not  to  be  taken  seriously. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  here  that  lettering  is 
essentially  flat  ornament,  and  that  all  the  misguided 
attempts  to  make  letters  appear  solid  by  adding  shad- 
ows, by  drawing  them  in  perspective,  or  by  making 
them  of  cobble  stones  or  branches  of  trees  like  porch 
furniture,  are  eminently  bad. 

The  designer's  problem  is  then  to  select  the  appro- 
priate combinations  and  by  arrangement  and  spacing 
to  make  a  pleasing  effect.  In  this  there  should  be 
considered  (i)  the  period,  (2)  the  purpose,  (3)  the 
material. 

The  period  or  general  historical  style  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  design  or  ornament  must  be  noted,  and 
the  lettering  must  first  of  all  be  appropriate.     Gothic 


64 


Design  and  Composition 


letters  for  example  would  of  course  be  out  of  place  in  a 
Renaissance    or    Barocco    design.     Similarly,    if    the 


Fig.  95. — "Religion,"  by  E.  A.  Abbey. 

CopyriHht  1908,  E.  A.  Abbey 
From  a  Copley  Print,  Copyright  190S,  by  Curtis  &  Cameron. 

lettering  is  predominant  the  ornament  must  fit  the 
letter  selected  even  if  the  ornament  be  only  a  border. 


1  tvj i'umc  zLKincL >3© a  ■■-■■" 

F-aTl^InIC/-?  riiG'rinLnjUL 

-  rOS  QENStC^JJS  i£CA.C/  CO;  -i  iji.'.'-:.- 
Ra-TJj  lis  BV  HJS  i/J7£  CrLr.klXyTIL 
fAGi  aMI>  ^i!S  I>AJiC.rlT£R-J5/-i;ii  -' 

In!  GJJLAJTL'iJi  •K£COG>JrrJO>i 


1  1 

.  -a     I 


--•—-■-■■  a 


^_GI  PI  All 


'J 


Fig.  96.— Bronze  Tablet,  by  T.  E.  F, 


65 


Design  and  Composition 


On  page  72  the  letters  discussed  in  Chapter  V,  and 
some  of  their  appropriate  uses  have  been  set  forth  in 
tabular  form  and  may  be  studied  with  profit  in  connec- 
tion with  the  choice  of  letter  combinations. 

The  purpose  of  the  inscription  is  again  an  important 
consideration  in  the  selection  of  the  style.  E.xamjjles 
will  readily  suggest  themselves,  but  the  key-word 
again  is  appropriateness. 

Clearness  and  legibility  are  of  course  fundamental 
conditions,  but  these  are  relative  terms;  they  do  not 
necessarily  mean  the  property  of  being  read  at  a  glance, 
what  Dr.  v.  Larisch  calls  brutal  legibility.  The  leg- 
ibility of  a  sign  or  advertisement  is  not  necessary  nor 
even  desirable  in  lettering  used  as  ornament.  Beauti- 
fully designed  ornament  assumes  that  the  observer 
has  time  to  examine  it  and  enjoy  its  detail.  An 
extreme  example  is  shown  in  Fig.  95,  a  reproduction 
of  one  of  the  late  Edwin  A.  Abbey's  four  medallions 
(Art,  Science,  Justice  and  Religion),  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  Capitol.  Mr.  Abbey,  one  of  the  great- 
est of  modern  painters  was  at  the  same  time  the  great- 
est master  of  lettering  in  decoration.  Not  since 
Albrecht  Durcr  has  there  been  a  great  master  so 
familiar  with  the  details  and  the  beauties  of  lettering. 


Ons  SKINNER! 

Tf^ES  ENTinC 

FRANCESCAI 
D^  RIMINI 


\  WITH  AK.'APPIiECIATIOT^  By 

LYMAN  BGLOVER. 

IRALPH    FLETCHER.    SEYMOUR 
ITublisher     CHICAGO  MDCCCCI 


66 


Fig.  97.— Title  Page,  by  Ralph  Fletcher  Seymour. 


Design  and  Composition 


The  backgrounds  of  these  medallions  have  not  the 
legibility  of  an  advertisement,  indeed  at  first  sight  of 
the  originals  one  does  not  notice  the  lettering  at  all. 


EIME :  TRR^^ENE :  in  iEIMEM  i  HM 


Fig.  98.— By  Dard  Hunter. 

HE  IS  WISEST  WHO  HAS 
THE  MOST  CAUTION  • 

HE  ONLY  WINS  WHO 
GOES  FAR  ENOUGH' 

Fig.  99. — Roman,  by  \V.  A.  Dwiggins. 

The  material  upon  which  the  lettering  is  to  be  done 
must  of  course  be  considered.   In  stone  it  is  the  shadow 


and  not  the  outline  that  defines  the  letter  (page  40); 
the  same  is  true  to  a  lesser  extent  in  wood  or  bronze, 
or  other  materials  where  the  surface  of  the  letter  is 
the  same  color  as  the  background.  Stubborn  mater- 
ials such  as  beaten  silver  or  copper,  or  cast  metals, 
cannot  have  the  same  delicacy  of  design  as  engraved 


Fig.  100. — By  Rudolf  Melichar.     (Larisch.) 

metals.  Rough  paper  demands  bolder  treatment  than 
smooth  paper.  Letters  for  needlework,  or  leather, 
or  stenciling  must  be  designed  strictly  with  reference 
to  the  surface  and  te.xture  of  the  materials  used. 

When  these  three  points  have  been  considered  the 
designer  will  begin  his  problem.  After  deciding  upon 
the  general  form  of  the  space  to  be  used  he  will  write 


67 


Design  and  Composition 


Fig.  ioi. — Title  Page,  by  Ralph  Fletcher  Seymour. 


out  the  inscription  roughly,  selecting  the  important 
words  or  lines  for  emphasis  by  size  or  position,  and  will 


li^. 


iOMMEMOKATETHhVlC 


'QUN? 


ENTOF.WHICH 

^TRIOTISM-OF 

ll?AdrEDT>-Ti^i5 


Fig.  I02. — Bronze  Tablet,  designed  by  McKim,  Mead  &  White, 

Archts. 

Courtesy  of  Jno.  Williams.    Inc.,  N.  Y. 

make  a  number  of  miniature  sketches,  not  more  than 
an  inch  or  two  in  height,  for  composition.  This 
arrangement  of  the  relation  of  white  and  black  is  the 


68 


Design  and  Composition 


important  step,  and  the  full  size  drawing  cannot  be 
started  until  a  satisfactory  scheme  of  composition  has 
been  determined. 


'^IJn^^dA 


Fig. 


103. — Cover  Desigt^of  "An  Unofficwl  Lo\'e  Story." 
Published  by  the  Century  Co. .  N.  Y. 


When  the  design  in  the  little  sketch  seems  to  be 
balanced  and  harmonious  the  final  drawing  should  be 
laid  out  carefully  in  the  same  proportion,  penciling 


top  and  bottom  guide  lines  for  each  line  of  letters  very 
lightly.  If  the  design  is  symmetrical  the  method  of 
procedure  will  be  as  given  under  the  head  of  title 
designing  on  pages  35  and  36,  working  from  the 
center  line,  and  shifting  letters  and  lines  until  the 
desired  effect  is  obtained.  If  the  design  is  unsym- 
metrical  or  massed,  suitable  treatment  will  suggest  it- 

FlDM  far  awa^we  come  to  )ou, 
t^e  snow  in  the  stRcet:  &  the  win  J  on  the  door. 
Xjo  tdi  ofgReat-tidings  strange  and  tRue — • 
MinstRcZs  er  maids,  stand  toRth  on  the  floor. 

Fig.  104.— By  \\\  .\.  Dwiggins. 

self,  but  in  every  case  the  copy  should  be  \\Tittcn  down 
in  the  adopted  arrangement  and  the  letters  counted 
for  the  approximate  spacing. 

The  artist  using  letters  in  design  is  assumed  to  know 
the  laws  of  design  and  will  follow  the  same  principles 
in  the  lettermg  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  design.  It 
is,  however,  more  difficult  to  bring  letters  under  these 
laws  than  landscape  or  figure  composition. 

When  one  has  become  a  master  of  the  letters  he  may 


69 


Design  and  Composition 


use  them  to  form  ornament,  but  it  is  safer  for  the 
amateur  to  preserve  the  historical  forms  and  put  his 
ornament  on  the  background. 

On  account  of  the  varying  widths  of  Roman  letters 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  space  a  word  to  a  given 
length  by  counting  letters  from  a  center  line.  Fig.  105 
illustrates  a  method  of  spacing,  on  the  old  principle  of 
similar  triangles. 

Suppose  it  is  reqiyred  to  put  the  word  PROBLEM 
on  the  line  and  to  the  length  ab.  A  line  ac  is  drawn 
from  a  at  any  angle,  another  line  ilc  drawn  parallel 
to  it  and  the  word  sketched  in  this  space,  starting  at 
a  and  spacing  each  letter  with  reference  to  the  one 
before  it,  allowing  the  word  to  end  where  it  will.  The 
end  of  the  last  letter  (at  c)  is  connected  with  b  and 
lines  parallel  to  cb  drawn  from  each  letter,  thus  dividing 
ab  proportionately.  The  proportionate  height  of  bf  is 
obtained  from  ce  by  the  construction  shown,  after 
which  the  word  can  be  sketched  in  its  final  position. 

After  one  has  become  familiar  with  the  letters  the 
line  ac  only  need  be  drawn  and  the  proportionate 
widths  marked  on  it  starting  at  a  as  in  the  word 
"SPACING." 

The  final   adjustment   will   be  secured  only   after 


Fig.  105. — Method  of  Spacing  to  Given  Length. 


"0 


Design  and  Composition 


each  letter  has  been  adapted  perfectly  to  its  surround- 
ings, with  the  areas  of  space  so  balanced  that  no  gaping 
whites  nor  spots  of  black  mar  the  effect.  Do  not 
hesitate  to  erase  a  whole  line  if  it  is  felt  that  shifting 
it  even  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  would  improve  the 
design. 

At  this  stage  the  trained  designer  can  see  clearly  the 
exact  appearance  of  the  finished  drawing;  the  beginner 
is  often  surprised  at  the  difference  in  effect  when  the 
letters  are  inked,  and  solid  black  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  gray  pencil  outline.  This  part  of  designing 
cannot  be  taught,  it  is  gained  only  by  experience. 

If  the  work  is  a  drawing  for  reproduction,  a  printed 
cover  page  for  example,  a  full  size  sketch  on  paper  of 
the  same  color  and  texture  as  that  to  be  used  in  the 
printing  is  a  great  aid  in  studying  the  effect  before 
making  the  final  enlarged  drawing  for  the  engraver. 

Suggestions  on  drawing  for  reproduction  will  be 
found  in  Chapter  VIII. 

Book  covers  in  cloth  are  printed  with  brass  stamps, 
and  the  drawing,  made  to  fmished  size  in  color  on 
smooth  binder's  cloth,  of  the  selected  shade,  is  often 
sent  for  the  die-cutter  to  work  from. 

Designs  for  execution  in  stone  or  bronze  are  made 


full  size  in  pencil  only,  on  detail  paper  or  tracing  paper 
and  from  this  transferred  to  the  material. 

Fig.  1 06  is  an  alphabet  designed  with  Japanese 
characters  (there  is  no  real  alphabet  in  that  language), 
for  which  occasional  appropriate  use  may  be  found  in 


Fig.  106. — .\  Japanese  Suggestion, 
connection  with  Japanese  design.     It  may  be  used  in 
vertical  panels.     The  two  fillers  on  the  last  line  are 
the  well-known  symbols,  or  words,  for  "good  luck" 
and  "long  life."  ' 
The  following  page  gives  a  summary,  in   tabular 


The  Letters  and  Their  Uses 


(Propriety) 


(Sincerity) 


(nignity) 


(I.cEil.ility) 


(Boldness) 


(ironotony) 


(Novelty) 


OLD  ROMAN 

miamii  ®  m 


(Caprice)       ^-rre/pc/)  /cr(pl6^^ 
Roman  lower-case 


COMMERCIAL  GOTHIC 

MODERN  ROMAN 

ART  MQa^EAU  ^m 


— The  "general  purpose  letter."  P"or  classic  and  renaissance  design.  All  caps  for 
architectural  inscriptions,  corner  stones,  tablets,  signs,  titles  on  drawings, 
initials.  All  caps  or  caps  and  lower-case  for  posters,  book  covers,  book 
plates,  etc.     Permits  of  wide  letter-spacing. 

— All  caps,  or  caps  and  Gothic  lower-case.  For  ecclesiastical  work  or  with  anv 
Gothic  design.  Initials,  versals,  illuminating,  monograms,  etc.  Lines  close 
together. 

— Never  all  caps.  Ecclesiastical  work,  inscriptions,  illuminating,  engrossing,  work 
in  medieval  design;  book  covers  of  appropriate  titles.  May  be  etched  or 
engraved  on  metal.     Letters  must  be  kept  close  together. 

— .Ml  caps,  or  better  caps  and  lower-case.  For  graceful,  fanciful,  quaint  effects. 
Louis  XV,  XVI,  &c.,  design.  Book  covers,  ciphers,  etc.  With  Old  Roman 
for  posters,  titles,  headings,  etc.     Colonial  style. 

— Less  formal  than  Roman  cai)itals.  A  subordinate  letter,  but  words  more  legible 
than  all  caj)s,  hence  should  be  used  for  sentences,  paragraphs  or  solid  pages. 

• — All  caps.  Effect  crude.  Single  letters  readable  at  a  greater  distance  than  any  other 
style.  For  bold  brush-work,  titles  on  working  drawings,  signs,  inscriptions  on 
stone,  etc.  Letters  may  be  much  compressed  or  extended  but  not  widely  spaced. 

— For  map  w'ork — titles  and  important  features,  all  caps,  less  important  land 
features,  caps  and  lower-case.  Water  features  inclined.  Used  by  sign  writers 
and  engravers.     Inartistic  and  useless  in  design. 

— For  all  work  in  the  "moderne  stil."  Etching,  stenciling,  saw-piercing,  arts  and 
crafts  work  in  general.     Monograms,  marks,  posters,  etc. 


72 


Design  and  Composition 


form,  of  the  letters  used  in  design,  with  suggestions  as 
to  the  appropriate  uses  for  each  style.  The  character- 
istic designation  given  to  each  may  seem  fanciful,  but  it 
is  simply  an  effort  to  "  personify  "  the  styles  and  to  aid 
in  giving  that  sympathetic  acquaintance  which  the 
successful  designer  must  feel. 

To  attempt  to  go  into  detail  in  any  of  the  branches 
of  design  in  which  lettering  is  used  would  carry  us  past 


r$Sil%mtuVoi 


Fig.  107. — By  R.  F.  Seymour. 

the  limits  of  this  book.  The  lettering  on  a  book-plate 
for  example  is  really  the  most  important  part  of  it, 
but  the  design  of  ex  libris  is  a  subject  in  itself.  Fig.  108 
is  a  book-plate  in  which  letters  have  been  used  as 
design. 

Another  special  subject  into  which  we  cannot  enter 
is  the  art  of  illuminating,  which  may  be  defined  as  the 
brightening  of  a  page  by  the  use  of  colors  and  gold  and 
silver.     As  an  art  it  flourished  throughout  the  Middle 


Ages,  and  naturally  declined  ^after  the  invention  of 
printing.  In  the  present  revival  of  lettering,  when  the 
beauty  of  the  hand-written  page  is  appreciated  more 
than  at  any  time  since  printing  was  invented,  the  "  Art 
of  Illuminating"  is  coming  again  to  a  rightful  place 
among  the  arts. 

Beautiful  things  may  be  done  easily  by  the  student 
of  lettering,  on  vellum,  parchment,  Japan  papers  or 
even  "cover  papers,"  by  designing  a  page  of  writing, 
usually  in  Gothic  or  Roman  lower-case  and  illuminat- 
ing the  initials  and  border.  In  the  simplest  design  it 
would  mean  only  the  boxing  of  the  initials  as  in  Figs. 
55  and  65.  Real  illuminating  always  implies  the 
application  of  metals  in  addition  to  color.  Pure  gold, 
burnished,  should  be  used,  either  in  the  form  of  shell 
gold,  or  leaf.  Gold  and  silver  bronzes  are  useful  only 
for  temporar}'  work. 

The  student  wishing  to  go  into  illuminating  is 
referred  to  the  books  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter, 
particularly  to  "  Writing  and  Illuminating  and  Letter- 
ing," by  Edward  Johnston. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  student  in  practicing 
lettering  for  application  in  any  branch  of  design  do  not 
simply  copy  alphabets,  but  that  he  set  a  delinite  prob- 


Design  and  Composition 


lem,  as  a  book  cover  or  title  page,  and  gain  from  it  not 
only  knowledge  of  the  letter  forms,  but  experience  in 
the  far  more  important  part,  the  composition. 


The  figures  in  this  chapter  are  given  to  illustrate 
good  design  and  composition  in  a  variety  of  subjects, 
and  should  have  careful  study. 


l''iG.  loS. — Book  Plate  by  Thomas  Moring. 
From  "  One  Hundred  Book  Plates." 

74 


CHAPTER  VII 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


One  of  the  severe  tests  of  a  designer's  skill  and 
originality  is  in  the  design  of  letter  combinations  in 
monogram  or  cipher.  It  requires  not  only  knowledge 
of  the  laws  of  design,  and  intimate  and  sympathetic 
acquaintance  with  the  letter-forms,  but  a  certain 
ingenuity  and  inventive  ability — a  power  to  devise 
combinations  where  none  are  evident. 

A  monogram,  strictly  speaking,  is  a  combination  of 
two  or  more  letters  in  which  a  part  of  each  letter  forms 
part  of  another.  It  is  common  to  speak  of  any  com- 
bination of  interwoven  or  superimposed  letters  as  a 
monogram,  but  if  each  letter  is  separate  and  complete 
such  devices  are  not  really  monograms,  but  ciphers; 
and  although  usage  and  even  some  dictionary  defini- 
tions have  sanctioned  the  broader  use  of  the  word,  we 
shall  make  the  distinction,  mainly  for  convenience  in 
reference. 

As  a  rule  the  designing  of  a  monogram  requires 
more  ingenuity  than  a  cipher,  and  is  consequently 
more  interesting  as  a  problem,  hut  the  result  is  often 


not  as  pleasing  as  a  well  designed  cipher.  A  mongrel 
combination  of  the  two,  in  three  letter  designs,  in 
which  two  of  the  letters  are  monogram  and  the  third  a 
separate  letter  is,  however,  to  be  avoided  if  at  all  pos- 
sible. It  should  be  pure  monogram  or  pure  cipher. 
In  this  distinction  it  should  not  be  understood  that 
a  monogram  is  better  than  a  cipher  as  a  design.  The 
device  is  for  ornament,  indeed  is  ornament  and  an 
essential  requirement  is  beauty.  It  is  very  often  true 
that  a  given  combination  of  letters  cannot  be  made  into 
anything  but  an  ugly  monogram,  it  is  very  seldom  the 
case  that  the  same  combination  cannot  be  combined 
into  satisfactory,  if  not  beautiful,  cipher. 

The  laws  of  unity,  balance,  symmetry,  etc.,  will  of 
course  apply  in  this  as  in  any  other  branch  of  design. 
Absolute  symmetry  about  a  central  axis  is  not  at  all 
necessary,  but  balance  must  be  maintained. 

The  period,  purpose,  and  material  must  again  be 
considered.  The  period  or  style  must  be  appropriate, 
and  the  letters  must  all  belong  to  the  same  stvle.     It 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


is  absolutely  intolerable  to  mix  styles.  The  desire 
should  be  for  simplicity  and  purity  of  line  and  com- 
position. The  florid  "Louis  XV"  designs  sometimes 
used  by  engravers  are  of  no  value  to  craftsmen.  Ex- 
cessive ornamentation  is  an  acknowledgment  of  weak- 
ness. The  important  letter  (the  last,  in  initials  of 
persons)  is  to  be  prominent  by  position,  size  or  strength. 
The  monogram  to  be  perfect  must  read  in  the  correct 
order. 

The  purpose  will  again  determine  the  legibility.  A 
trademark  or  commercial  device  must  read  easily, 
while  a  private  mark  may  be  decipherable  with  diffi- 
culty but  both  must  be  decorative,  and  hence  good 
design. 

The  material  on  which  the  device  is  to  be  executed 
will  influence  the  style  of  letter,  the  amount  of  orna- 
ment and  the  character  of  the  background. 

Monograms  and  ciphers  may  be  either  superimposed, 
successive  or  condnuous.  In  the  superimposed  design 
the  prominent  letter  will  be  emphasized  by  its  size,  by 
the  quality  of  line  composing  it  or  by  its  position  on  top. 
The  successive  and  continuous  designs  will  read 
naturally  from  left  to  right,  the  continuous  being 
formed  in  one  stroke  and  therefore  having  only  two 


free  ends.  Sometimes  in  the  successive  form  the  last 
letter  is  made  much  larger  than  the  others  and  placed 
in  the  middle. 

Care  must  be  taken,  especially  in  three-letter  com- 
binations, not  to  get  an  "accidental"  letter,  as  such  an 
event  will  destroy  the  value  of  the  design  however  good 
it  may  be. 

It  is  permissible  to  reverse  any  letter  but  the  last. 
The  device  of  the  Rookwood  Pottery,  Fig.  117,  is  a 
well-known  example.  Many  of  these  are  found  in  the 
French  designs  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  per- 
fect symmetry  about  the  vertical  axis  was  particularly 
sought  for. 

In  comparatively  rare  cases  a  reversible  monogram 
reading  either  from  top  or  bottom  can  be  made. 
These  are  of  particular  value  in  applied  design  in  craft 
work.  Fig.  109  illustrates  possibilities  with  all  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet. 

In  attacking  the  problem  the  shape  of  the  space  is 
the  first  consideration.  If  the  monogram  is  to  be 
enclosed  in  a  circle  or  other  geometrical  outline  it 
must  be  arranged  to  fit  the  space,  and  even  if  to  be  used 
as  free  ornament  its  proportions  must  be  designed  for 
the  place  it  is  to  occupy. 


76 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


a? 


Fig.  log. — Reversible  Monograms  and  Ciphers. 


The  letters  to  be  combined  should  be  set  down  and 
studied.  A  H  I  M  O  T  U  V  W  X  Y  are  symmetrical, 
and  several  of  them  reversible  (upside  down)  along 
with  N  S  and  Z.  If  the  given  letters  are  included  in 
this  group  it  is  evident  that  the  first  form,  a  symmetrical 
superimposed  device,  is  an  easy  solution.     Fig.   no. 


Fig.  no. — Superimposed  Forms. 

Pairs  such  as  CD,  CO,  GD,  EB  (script)  and  doubles 
as  HH,  DC,  QD,  etc.,  balance  left  and  right  and 
suggest  the  possibility  of  symmetrical  arrangement  in 
either  the  first,  or  second,  the  successive,  form.  Fig.  1 1 1. 
This  form  is  possible  oftener  than  the  first,  and  is 
usually  more  legible. 


77 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


If  strict  monogram  is  being  striven  for,  a  careful 
study  should  be  made  to  find  common  strokes.  Thus 
in  M  R  L,  Fig.  112,  the  M  has  four  possible  lines  for 
use  as  stems  for  the  R  and  L.  Evidently  using  the 
first  stem  would  give  a  faulty  result,  as  in  (i),  reading 
RM  L. 


Fig.  III. — Successive  Forms. 

The  free  ends  of  each  letter  should  be  studied  with 
reference  to  the  possibility  of  connecting  them  into 
continuous  monogram,  Fig.  113.  Sometimes  free 
ends  may  be  improvised  as  in  E  B.  A  vertical  script  is 
a  useful  letter  for  continuous  forms.  Fig.  115.  For 
autograph  monograms  the  continuous  device  is  par- 
ticularly good. 


After  analyzing  the  letters  in  this  way  the  designer 
should  try  the  different  styles  of  letter  in  little  sketches, 
beginning  with  the  Roman.     This  letter  does  not  per- 


FiG.  113. — Continuous  Monograms. 

mit  of  many  liberties,  it  is  not  flexible,  but  when  one 
does  get  a  good  design  in  Old  Roman  it  is  sure  to  have 
dignity  and  character.     If  after  a  half  dozen  trials  no 


78 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


possibilities  seem  to  suggest  themselves  pass  on  to  the 
Uncial,  which  on  account  of  its  admitting  of  more 
variation  is  much  more  amenable  to  treatment;  and 
probably  with  the  given  letters  there  will  be  several 


Fig.  114. — O.  S.  U.     Uncial  and  Gothic. 

suggested  Uncial  combinations,   in  both   monogram 
and  cipher,  Fig.  114. 

Gothic  may  be  tried  next.  Old  English  capitals  are 
themselves  sufficiently  complicated  as  not  to  invite 
further  complication,  but  the  simpler  forms  can  often 


be  worked  into  acceptable  design  in  either  monogram 
or  cipher. 

The  next  form,  script,  is  the  favorite  letter  of  the 


Fig.  115. — Script,  Designed  by  \.  .\.  Turbayne. 

engravers.  It  combines  much  more  easily  into  cipher 
than  into  monogram,  and  allows  such  freedom  that  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  any  combination  may  be  done  pass- 
ably in  it. 


I'lG.  116. — J.  R.  C.     Various   Treatments  of   the  Same  Monogram. 

The  modern,  "new  art,"  letters  offer  the  most  at- 
tractive field  for  the  ingenious  monogram  designer. 
The  variations  of  form  which  they  present,  and  the 


79 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 


possibilities  for  originality  and  individuality  make 
them  the  most  interesting  of  all  to  play  with.  This 
style  naturally  suggests  itself  for  use  in  the  art-crafts, 
in  etched,  pierced,  and  stenciled  work.  Striking 
effects  are  secured  by  cutting  the  letters  from  a  black 
background.     Often  a  pleasing  device,  although  not  a 


It  may  be  a  monogram,  or  initial,  or  even  a  device 
without  letters;  it  need  not  be  legible  but  it  must  be 
distinctive.  The  possession  of  such  marks  is  very 
common  among  the  literary  and  artistic  people  of 
France  and  Germany. 

M.  George  Auriol  is  the  acknowledged  master  of 


WiLUAM  (74j  OVTON 


jesu  hominum 
Salvatop 


The  Studio" 


Fig.  117. — Various  Historical  and  other  Devices. 

real  monogram  may  be  made  by  using  separated 
letters  enclosed  with  good  composition  in  some  shape, 
Fig.  118. 

The  modern  cachet  or  mark  bears  much  the  same 
relation  to  an  individual  that  a  trade-mark  does  to  a 
business  house,  being  the  stamp  of  individuality  with 
which  he  may  mark  his  productions  or  possessions. 


I'lG.  iiS. — Designs  with  Separate  Letters. 

this  decoration,  and  his  published  drawings  of  these 
designs  form  two  most  fascinating  little  books.  Fig. 
1 19  shows  examples  of  his  style,  the  lirst  device  being 
his  own  characteristic  signature. 

The  illustrations  of  this  chapter  are  selected  from 
monograms  designed  by  the  authors  (except  as  cred- 


SO 


Monograms,  Ciphers  and  Marks 

ited),  and,  with  some  exceptions,  are  in  actual  use;  and  while  some  unite  easily  and  others  with  difficulty,  a 

it  may  be  said  for  the  benefit  of  the  beginner  who  may  satisfactory  monogram  or  cipher  in  some  style  is  pos- 

think  his  initials  are  impossible  of  combination,  that  sible  with  any  two  or  three  letter  combination. 


J.O.  JR.  '"  H  B. 

Fig.  119. — Designs  by  George  Auriol. 


81 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Drawing  for  Reproduction 


As  the  greatest  amount  of  designed  lettering  done  is 
for  reproduction  the  student  should  make  himself 
familiar  with  the  modern  graphic  processes  and  the 
requirements  necessary  in  drawing  for  them.  Line 
drawings  are  usually  reproduced  by  the  jjhoto-mcchan- 
ical  process  known  as  zinc  etching,  in  which  the  draw- 
ing is  photographed  on  a  process  plate,  generally  with 
some  reduction  in  size,  the  negative  film  reversed  and 
printed  so  as  to  give  a  positive  on  a  sensitized  zinc 
plate  (when  a  particularly  fine  result  is  desired  a  copper 
plate  is  used),  which  is  etched  with  acid  leaving  the 
lines  in  relief,  and  giving,  when  mounted  type-high 
on  a  wood  base,  a  printing  block  which  can  be  used 
along  with  type  on  an  ordinary  jirinting  press.  Wash 
drawings  and  jihotographs  are  reproduced  in  a  similar 
way  on  copper  by  what  is  known  as  the  half-tone  pro- 
cess, in  which  the  negative  is  made  through  a  ruled 
"screen"  in  front  of  the  plate,  which  breaks  up  the 
tints  into  a  series  of  dots  of  varying  size. 

Drawings  for  zinc  etching  should  be  made  on  com- 


paratively smooth  white  paper  (Bristol  board  is 
generally  used,  and  tracing  cloth  works  very  success- 
fully), in  black  drawing  ink,  and  preferably  larger  than 
the  required  reproduction.  If  it  is  desired  to  preserve 
the  hand-drawn  character  and  quality  of  the  original 
the  reduction  should  be  very  slight,  but  if  a  very 
smooth  effect  is  wanted  the  drawing  may  be  as  much 
as  three  or  four  times  as  large  as  the  cut.  The  best 
general  size  is  one  and  one-half  times,  linear.  A 
reducing  glass,  a  concave  lens  mounted  like  a  reading 
glass,  is  sometimes  used  to  aid  in  judging  the  effect  of 
the  drawing  on  reduction.  If  lines  are  drawn  too 
close  together  the  space  between  them  will  choke  in 
the  rej^roduction  and  mar  the  effect. 

As  suggested  on  page  71  a  sketch  the  size  of  the 
finished  cut  should  usually  be  made  to  work  from. 
The  proj)ortions  of  this  sketch  may  be  enlarged  to  the 
desired  size  by  proportional  dividers,  or  by  making  a 
paper  scale,  or  by  diagonals  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  120. 
If  a  diagonal  ab  across  the  original  sketch  afbg  be 


S2 


Drawing  for  Reproduction 


f 


'W^ 


Fig.  1 20. — Method  of  Enlarging  a  Drawing. 


extended,  lines  ci  and  ce  may  be  drawn  from  any  point 
on  it,  as  c,  and  will  enclose  a  rectangle  adce  of  the  same 
proportion  as  the  original. 

A  line  of  letters,  as  the  block  ]ii]h,  may  be  located 
both  for  size  and  position  by  extending  its  sides  to  the 
edges  of  the  original  sheet  and  drawing  lines  through 
these  points  from  the  corner  a.  Where  these  lines 
intersect  the  edges  of  the  enlarged  sheet  will  give  points 
from  which  the  enlarged  block  may  be  located,  as 
shown. 

If  more  than  one  color  is  to  be  used,  for  example,  if 
some  letters  or  parts  of  the  ornament  are  to  be  red ,  these 
parts  may  be  drawn  with  an  opaque  vermilion,  which 
will  photograph  the  same  as  black,  or  they  may  be 
drawn  in  black  and  the  color  indicated  on  the  margin. 
The  engraver  will  make  two  plates  from  the  same  nega- 
tive, and  will  block  out  the  colors  on  the  zinc,  giving 
two  plates,  one  for  the  red  and  one  for  the  black,  of 
exactly  the  same  size,  and  which  will  consequently 
register  accurately  in  the  printing. 

One  ver}'  convenient  thing  not  permissible  in  other 
work,  may  be  done  on  drawings  for  reproduction — 
any  irregularities  may  be  corrected  by  simply  painting 
out   with  French   white    (blanc   d'argent).      If  it  is 


83 


Drawing  for  Reproduction 


X 


desired  to  shift  a  line  after  it  has  been  inked  it 
mav  be  cut  out  and  pasted  on  in  the  required 
position.  The  edges  thus  left  will  not  trouble  the 
engraver  as  they  will  be  tooled  out  when  the  etching 
is  finished. 

Often  time  may  be  saved,  and  in  many  cases  effects 
not  possible  in  drawing  may  be  secured  with  the  aid  of 
the  engraver.  If  a  design  or  border  is  symmetrical 
about  a  center  line,  one-half  only  need  be  drawn  and 
the  engraver  can  reverse  the  design  for  the  other  side. 


Plates  may  be  "grained"  to  imitate  very  closely 
charcoal  or  pencil  texture,  and  tints,  backgrounds  and 
textures  may  be  added  by  the  engraver's  use  of  the 
method  of  mechanical  shading  commonly  known  as 
the  Ben  Day  process.  In  this  the  drawing  is  made 
in  outline,  with  the  patterns  to  be  used  indicated  on 
it  by  numbers.  The  shading  films,  which  come  in  a 
great  variety  of  stipples,  cross-hatchings,  grains  and 
lines,  are  inked  and  applied  directly  on  the  plate,  or 
in  some  cases  on  the  drawing. 


84 


CHAPTER  IX 
Bibliography 


The  title  of  this  book  indicates  its  limits.  For  the 
student  who  expects  to  go  into  the  subject  thoroughly 
and  seriously  it  is  only  an  introduction.  The  aim  has 
been  not  to  multiply  examples,  but  to  give  an  adequate 
number  of  practical  working  styles  for  the  ordinary 
draftsman  and  designer,  with  examples  of  composition 
in  sufficient  variety  to  illustrate  the  text.  An  indexed 
clipping  file  of  good  work  in  lettering  and  design  should 
be  started,  and  the  habit  of  studying  critically  the  work 
found  in  the  magazines  and  other  artistic  publications 
cultivated. 

The  following  list  of  books  is  given  to  aid  those  who 
will  pursue  the  study.  Some  of  these  will  be  found  in 
most  public  libraries.  Those  marked  *  would  be  of 
particular  value  in  the  designer's  library. 

(i)  HISTORY,  ETC. 
Clodd,  Edward — The  Story  of  the  Alphabet.     Apple- 
ton,  1907. 

An    interesting    little    book    on    primitive    writing, 
hieroglyphics,  etc.,  disputing  some  theories  of  Taylor. 


De  Vinne,  Theo.  L.— Plain  Printing  Types.  The 
De  Vinne  Press,  1900. 

A  history  of  printing  types  by  the  best  .\merican 
authority. 

Gress,  Edmund  G.— The  Art  and  Practice  of  Typog- 
raphy. N.  Y.  The  Oswald  Publishing 
Co.,  1910. 

A  history  of  printing,  with  reproductions  of  the  work 
of  early  masters,  and  excellent  chapters  on  composi- 
tion, with  many  modern  e.xamples.  160  pp.,  over 
600  ill.  and  specimens. 

Skinner,  H.  M. — The  Story  of  the  Letters  and  Figures. 
Orville  Brewer,  Chicago,  1905. 
A  popular  story  for  boys  and  girls,  of  the  develop- 
ment   of   letters   from    the   Phoenician.     Good  for 
supplementary  school  reading. 

Strange,  Edward  F.— *Alphabets.  Geo.  Bell  & 
Sons,  1898. 

\  valuable  book,  both  historical  and  practical. 
298  pp.     200  ill. 


S5 


Bibliography 


Taylor,  Isaac — The  Alphabet.     Its  Origin  and  Devel- 
opment.    2  V.     2d  ed.     London,  1899. 
The  most  exhaustive  and  authoritative  work  on  the 
subject. 

Thompson,  Sir  E.  M. — Handbook  of  Greek  and  Latin 
Palaeography.     Appleton,  1893. 
A  standard  work  on  the  history  of  writing. 

(2)  PRACTICAL  BOOKS  FOR  DESIGNERS 

Brown,    F.    C. — *Letters     &    Lettering.     Bates     & 
Guild,  1902. 

By  an  architect.  A  collection  of  alphabets  and 
examples  with  accompanying  text.     214  pp.     211  ill. 

Day,  Lewis  F. — *Alphabets  Old  and  New.     3rd  ed. 
Revised  and  enlarged.     Scribners,  igii. 
An  Essay  on  ".Art  in  the  .\lphabet,"  and  nearly 
200  working  alphabets.     256  pp. 

Day,  Lewis  F. — *Lettering  in  Ornament.     Scribners, 
1906. 

Many  historical  examples  on  stone,  wood,  bronze, 
etc.  Chapters  on  monograms,  ciphers,  conjoined 
letters,  initials,  etc.     218  pp.     186  ill. 

Johnston,  Edward — ^Writing  &  Illuminating  &  Let- 
tering.    The  Macmillan  Company,  1906. 
In  the  Artistic  Crafts  series  of  Technical  HandbooLs. 
Complete  practical  instruction  in  preparing  reed  and 


quill  pens,  formal  writing,  manuscript  hooks,  laying 
and  burnishing  gold,  etc.     500  pp.     218  ill.     23  pi. 

Larisch,  R.  von — *  Unterricht  in  Ornamentaler 
Schrift.  Second  ed.,  enlarged.  Wien,  1909. 
Dr.  V.  Larisch  is  the  recognized  European  authority 
on  modern  letters. 

Stevens,  Thos.   W. — ^Lettering  for  Printers    &   De- 
signers.    Inland  Printer,  Chicago,  1906. 
.\n  artistic  and  useful  little  book,  particularly  for 
Roman  lower-case.     117  pp.     65  ill. 

Strange,  E.  F. — *  Alphabets  (See  i). 

(3)  COLLECTIONS  OF  ALPHABETS,  ETC. 

Johnston,     Edward — *Manuscript    and     Inscription 
Letters.     London,  John  Hogg,  1909. 
A  valuable  working  supplement  to  Writing  &  Illum- 
inating &  Lettering.     16  pi. 

Koch,  Rudolf — Klassische  Schriften,  Dresden. 

25  plates  illustrating  the  letters  of  Gutenberg,  Diirer, 
W.  Morris,  Koenig,  Hupp,  etc. 

Larisch,    R.    von — Beispiele    Kunstlerischer    Schrift. 
Anton  Schroll,  Wien.     3V.,  1900-1906. 
Drawings  illustrating  composition,   by  well   known 
artists  in  their  characteristic  letters. 


86 


Bibliography 


Lehner,  Jos.  and  Mader,  Ed. — Neue  Schriften  und 
Firmcnschilder  Im  Modernen  Stil.  Wol- 
frum  &  Co.,  Wien,  n.  d. 

A  collection  of  Art  Nouveau  composition.     Beauti- 
ful color  schemes.     60  pi. 

Petzendorfer,  L. — *  Schriften  Atlas.  Jul.  Hoffman, 
Stuttgart,  1898. 

A  varied  collection  of  type  specimens  and  drawn 
alphabets  and  initials.     123  pi. 

Petzendorfer,  L. — *Schriften  Atlas.  Neue  Folge, 
Stuttgart,  1905. 

Newer    type    specimens,    initials,    monograms    and 
examples  of  composition  in  .-Vrt  Nouveau.     141  pi. 

Rhead,  G.  W. — An  Alphabet  of  Roman  Capitals,  to- 
gether with  three  sets  of  lower  case  letters, 
etc.     B.  T.  Batsford,  London,  1903. 
Old  Roman  from  Trajan's  column.     26  plates,  one 
letter  7  in.  high  on  each  plate. 

Smith,  P.  J.— Lettering  and  Writing.  B.  T.  Batsford, 
London,  igo8. 

By  a  pupil  of  Edward  Johnston.     15  plates  of  pen 
drawn  Roman. 

Turbayne,    A.    A. — Alphabets   and   Numerals.     Van 
Nostrand,  1904. 
17  pp.     27  pi.     Large  letters. 


Weimar,  William — Monumental  Schriften.     Gerlach 
und  Schenk,  Wein,  1898. 
68  plates  of  inscriptions  on  stone,  bronze  and  wood. 

(4)  ILLUMINATING 

Bradley,  John  W. — Illuminated  Letters  and  Borders. 
Board  of  Education,  South  Kensington,  1901. 
A  history  of  the  .\rt  of  Illumination,  and  list  of 
manuscripts  in   the  Victoria  and   .Mbert  Museum. 

175  PP-     19  P'- 

Bradley,  John  W. — Illuminated  Manuscripts.     Lon- 
don, Methuen  &  Co.     1905. 
An   interesting   and   scholarly   story   of   the   art  of 
illumination.     i6mo.,  290  pp.     21  pi. 

Delamotte,  F. — A  Primer  of  the  Art  of  Illumination. 
London,  Crosby,  Lockwood  &  Son,  1S97. 

43  PP-     20  pi- 

Johnston,  E.  F.— *Writing  &  Illuminating  &  Letter- 
ing (See  2). 

Herbert,  J.  A. — Illuminated  Manuscripts.  Putnam, 
1911. 

An    exhaustive   history   of   manuscript   books    with 
illustrations  in  color.     51  pi.     356  pp. 
,Laing,  J.  J. — *Manual  of  Illumination.     Windsor  & 
Newton. 
A  practical  lilllc  handbook.      100  pp. 


87 


Bibliography 


Laing,  J.  J. — *Companion  to  Manual  of  Illumination. 
Windsor  &  Newton. 

"Borders,  capitals,  texts  and  detail  finishings,  etc." 
28  pi. 

Middleton,  J.  H. — Illuminated  Manuscripts  in  Clas- 
sical and  Mediaeval  Times;  their  Art  and 
their  Technique.     Cambridge,  1892. 

Pctzendorfer,  L. — Schriften  Atlas  (See  3). 
Contains  many  illuminated  initials. 

Quaile,    Edward — Illuminated   Manuscripts.     Liver- 
pool, Henry  Young  &  Sons,  1897. 
An   interesting  sketch  of   their  origin,   hi.story  and 
characteristics.     149  pp.     26  pi. 

Robinson,  S.  F.  H. — Celtic  Illuminative  Art.     Dtiblin, 

1908 

A  beautiful  book  with  full  sized  reproductions  from 

the  Gospel  books  of  Durrow,  Lindisfarne  and  Kells. 

Colored  plates. 
Stokes,   Margaret. — Early   Christian  Art  in   Ireland. 

Board  of  Education,  South  Kensington. 

An  illustrated  handbook. 
Whithard,  Philip. — Illuminating  and  Missal  Painting, 

London,  Crosby,  Lockwod  &  Son,  1909. 

A   practical    treatise  on   materials  and    methods   of 

working.     145  pp. 


The  older  books,  such  as  Shaw,  Humphreys  and 
The  Art  of  Illuminating  by  Wyatt,  now  out  of  print, 
may  be  found  in  many  of  the  large  libraries. 

(5)  MONOGRAMS 

Auriol,    George — *Le    Premier    Livre    des    Cachets 

Marques  et  Monogrammes.     Paris,  Librairie 

Centrale  des  Beaux-Arts,  1901. 

A  most  artistic  little  book. 
Auriol,    George — *Le    Second    Livre    des    Cachets, 

Marques,  Monogrammes  et  ex  Libris.    Paris, 

Henry  Floury,  1908. 

Uniform  with  the  first  book. 
Benker,  H. — Das  Monogramm  der  Gegenwart.     Plau- 

en,  C.  Stoll. 

20  plates  of  monograms  especially  for  needle  work. 
Bergling,    J.    M. — Art    Monograms    and    Lettering. 

Chicago,  1912. 

A    portfolio    of    modern    designs    particularly    for 

engravers. 
Day,  L.  F. — *Lettering  in  Ornament  (See  2). 
Diebener,  Wilhelm— Monogramme  und  Dekorationen. 

Leipzig,  19 10. 

"Ftir     Uhren     und     Kdelmetall-gravierung."     145 

plates  of  Monograms  and  Devices. 


88 


Bibliography 


Nowack,  Hans — Das  Moderne  Monogramm.  Wicn, 
Ferd  Schenk. 

26  plates  containing  676  two-letter  ciphers. 

Petzendorfer,  L. — Schriften  Atlas,  Neue  Folge  (See  3). 

Contains  about  20  plates  of  modern  monograms. 
Turbayne,    A.    A. — *Monograms    &    Ciphers.     The 

Caxton  Co.,  London,  1909. 

135  plates  containing  all  the  two-letter  and  many 

three-letter  combinations  drawn  in  large  size,  with 

27  plates  of  alphabets  and  numerals. 

(6)  ENGINEERING  LETTERING 

Jacoby,  Henry  S. — A  Text-Book  on  Plain  Lettering. 
McGraw-Hill  Book  Company,  New  York. 
3d  ed.,  1909. 

Written  for  Civil   Engineers.     Elaborate  rules  for 
mechanical  spacing.     82  pp.     48  pi. 

Reinhardt,  C.  W. — Lettering  for  Draftsmen,  Engineers 
and  Students.     Van  Nostrand,  1895. 
"A  practical  system  of  freehand  lettering  for  working 
drawings."     23  pp.     8  pi. 

Sherman,  C.  E. — The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Letter- 
ing.    Midland  Publishing  Company,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.     6th  ed.,  1904. 
Showing  in  detail  the  construction  and  strokes  of 


modern  Roman  Capitals,  and  stump  letters.     One  of 

the  original  te.xt-books  on  the  subject.     49  pp.     11  pi. 
Wilson,  Victor  T. — Free-hand  Lettering.     John  Wiley, 

New  York,  1903. 

Development  of  letter-forms  and  composition  by  the 

sketch-method.     95  pp.     23  pi. 
Daniels,    Fish,    Esser,    Valpey,    Parsons,    Copley, 
Meinhardt,  Cromwell  and  many  others  have  prepared 
text-books  or  collections  of  alphabets  for  draftsmen. 

(7)  SHOW  CARD  AND  COMMERCIAL  LETTERING 

Davids,  Thaddeus — Davids'  Practical  Letterer.     New 

York,  1903. 
Heyny,    William — Modern    Lettering,    .Artistic    and 

Practical.     Comstock,  1909. 
Strong,   Chas.   J. — The  Art  of  Show  Card  Writing. 

Detroit  School  of  Lettering,  Detroit,  Mich., 

1907. 

(8)  SCHOOL  WORK,  ETC. 

Bailey,  Henry  T.— The  School  Arts  Alphabet  Sheets. 
School  Arts  Press,  Boston,  Mass. 

Ever)-  public  school  art  teacher  should  have  this  set. 

Bull,  Schuyler— The  A  B  C  of  Lettering  for  Public 
Schools.     Rochester,  N.  Y.,  190S. 
Four  plates  and  sheet  of  instructions. 


89 


Bibliography 


Shaylor,  H.  W. — Book  of  Alphabets  for  Use  in  Schools. 
Ginn  &  Co.,  1908. 
A  24-page  copybook  of  good  forms. 

The  cards  and  leaflets  issued  by  Alfred  Bartlett, 
Boston;  Paul  Elder,  San  Francisco,  and  other 
publishers  give  beautiful  and  suggestive 
examples  of  lettering  in  design. 

Photographs  of  Trajan's  Column  and  other  classical 
inscriptions  may  be  had  from  the  Director  of 


Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  S.  Kensington, 
London. 

This  should  not  be  considered  as  a  complete  bib- 
liography, but  it  contains  most  of  the  better  known 
works  in  the  various  divisions.  Many  books  out  of 
print  and  rare  are  not  included,  as  they  would  not 
ordinarily  be  accessible.  The  list  contains  sufficient 
titles  to  guide  in  the  selection  of  a  reference  library  for 
school  or  individual. 


90 


INDEX 


Abbey,  E.  A.,  66 
Accidental  letter,  76 
Alcuin  of  York,  2 
Aldus  Manutius,  59 
Alphabets,  books  of,  collections  of,  86 
Ampersand,  14 
Applied  design,  71,  72 
Appropriateness,  64 

Architects'  use  of  letters,  inscription  lettering, 
40,  41 

office  lettering,  39 
Architectural  drawing,  contents  of  title,  34 

forms  of  titles,  37 
Art-crafts,  63,  72,  80 
Art  Nouveau,  3,  61,  62,  63 

uses  of,  63,  72 
Auriol,  George,  62,  80,  81 
Autograph  monograms,  78 

Beginners'  mistakes,  29 
Ben  Day  films,  84 
Bibliography,  85 
Blackletter,  3,  52 


Blank  title  forms,  38 

Block  letter,  19 

Bold  face,  4 

Book  covers,  71 

Book  of  Kells,  2,  51 

Book  plates,  73 

Books  on  lettering,  85 

Boxed  title,  37,  38 

Brackets,  6,  8 

Broad  pens,  44,  46,  47,  50,  54,  55 

Bronze  tablets,  41,  65,  68,  71 

shrinkage,  41 
Brush  letters,  19,  44 

Cachets,  80 
Caroline  minuscule,  2 
Celtic,  2,  51 
Charlemagne,  2 
Ciphers,  75 
Civil  engineers,  15 
Colonial  composition,  60 
Color  in  reproduction,  S3 
Commercial  Gothic,  3,  19 

91 


Commercial    Gothic  alphabets,  20,  21, 

for  signals,  etc.,  41 

uses  of,  72 
Composition,  64 

Colonial,  60 

freedom  in,  42 

Reinhardt  in,  29 
Compressed  letters,  4,  29,  43 
Contents  of  titles,  34 
Continuous  monograms,  78 

Day,  Len-is  F.,  64 
Delia  Robbia  type,  47 
Design,  in  lettering,  64 

of  monograms,  75 

laws  of,  69 

symmetrical,  to  reverse,  84 

with  separate  letters,  80 
Development,  i 
De\ices,  historical,  80 

separate  letter,  80 
Drawing  instruments,  g 
Drawings,  for  reproduction,  82 


23 


Index 


Drawings,  to  enlarge,  82 

to  correct,  83 
Drop  line,  46 

Durer,  Albrecht,  52,  58.  66 
Dwiggins,  \V.  A.,  52,  67,  69 

Ellipses,  14 

Engineering  lettering,  books  on,  89 

Engraving,  82 

Engrossing,  56 

Evolution,  I 

Extended  letters,  4,  24 

Fillets,  6,  8,  14 
Flourishes,  in  Gothic,  57 

in  script,  60 
Follows,  G.  H.,  25 
Fractions,  29 

Freedom  in  composition,  42,  43 
French  script,  59 

uses  of,  72 

General  proportions  of  letters,  4 
Geological  survey,  15,  41 
Geometrical  construction,  9,  14 
German  text,  3,  53,  58 
Gothic,  52,  62 

alphabets,  55,  56,  57,  58 

commercial  (see  Commercial  Gothic) 


Gothic,  in  monograms,  79 
position  for  writing,  54 
uses  of,  58,  72 

Government  Bureaus,  15 

Half-tone  process,  82 
Half-uncial,  51 
Henry  VH,  tomb  of,  7 
Historical  devices,  80 
Histor}',  books  on,  85 
Hunter,  Uard,  63,  67 

Illuminating,  73 
Incised  letters,  39 
Inclined  Roman,  30,  31 

single  stroke  caps,  25 

alphabet,  26 
Individuality,  40,  45,  80. 
Initials,  ornamental,  50 
Inking,  5,  12,  18,  19,  25,  36 
Invention  of  printing,  3 
Irish  half-uncial,  2,  51 
Italic,  3,  30,  58,  59 

J,  use  of  I  for,  S 
Japanese,  71 
Jenson  type,  45 

Kells,  Book  of,  2,  51 

92 


Koch,  Rudolph,  60,  62 

Larisch,  Dr.  v.,  47,  66 
Laws  of  design,  69,  75 
Legibility,  28,  44,  66 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  14 
Light  face,  4 
Lombardic  letters,  47 
Lower-case,  Roman,  44 

proportion  of  capitals,  46 

single  stroke,  28 

Machine  drawing  title,  34 

Manuscripts,  2 

Map  title,  34 

Map  w^ork,  19,  31,  41 

Marks,  80 

Marsuppini  monument,  7 

Material,  67,  76,  82 

Mechanical  construction  of  Roman,  14 

Missal  type,  50 

Modern  Roman,  3,  15 

alphabets,  16,  17 

uses  of,  72 
Monograms,  75 

books  on,  88 

definitions,  75,  76 
Morris,  William,  45 


Index 


\pA-  Art,  6i 

in  monograms,  79 
uses  of,  63,  72 

Old  English,  3,  53 
Old  Roman,  i,  q 

alphabets,  6,  7,  10,  11,  13,  39,  40 

angle  of  tilt,  14 

compressed,  43 

for  architectural  work,  39,  40 

geometrical  construction  of,  10,  it,  14 

in  design,  42 

inking,  12 

in  monograms,  78 

in  titles,  37 

monogram-combinations,  43 

proportions,  8 

spacing,  ^3 

wide  letter-spacing,  37,  43 

written  with  broad  pen,  44 

uses  of,  72 
Optical  illusions,  4,  15 

Order   and    direction    of    strokes,    for    Old 
Roman,  12 

for  Commercial  Gothic,  22 

for  Gothic  capitals,  56 

for  Gothic  lower-case,  55 

for  single  stroke  upright  letters,  23 

for  single  stroke  inclined  letters,  26 


Ornament,  70 

Celtic,  51 

excessive,  76 

flat,  64 

in  monograms,  75 

on  titles,  37 
Ornamental  initials,  50 

Paper  scale,  9,  15 
Patent  oflice  drawing,  41 
Pencil  texture,  to  imitate,  S4 
Penciling,  9,  18,  ^;^ 
Pens,  22,  31,  44,  53 

to  prepare,  24 
Photo-mechanical  processes,  82 
Practical  books  for  designers,  86 
Practice  strokes,  for  Gothic  writing,  55 

for  stump  letters,  31 

incHned  single  stroke,  27 

upright  single  stroke,  24 
Printing,  invention  of,  3 

plates,  82 
Pumpkin  seed  letter,  31 
Punctuation  marks,  37 

Quill  pens,  54 

Record  strip,  38 
Reducing  glass,  82 

93 


Reed  pen,  44,  54 
Reinhardt,  Charles  W.,  28 
Reinhardt  letter,  28,  29,  40,  41 
Renaissance  Roman,  S,  7,  8 
Reproduction,  drawing  for,  82 
Reversible  monograms,  76,  77 
Richard  II,  tomb  of,  56 
Roman  letter,  5 

accented  lines,  5 

in  design,  42 

lower-case,  44 

alphabets,  45,  46,  47 
uses  of,  72 

modern,  3,  15,  16,  17 
uses  of,  7  2 

old  (see  Old  Roman) 

"oldstyle,"  5 

Renaissance.  5.  7,  8 

rules  for  shading,  6 
Round  Gothic,  52,  55 
Round-writing  pens,  53 
Rules,  of  stability,  4 

for  composition,  29 

for  Gmhic  letters,  53 

for  shading  Roman  letters,  6 

for  spacing,  53 
Rustic,  2 

Sans-serif,  19 


Index 


Script,  3,  58,  5Q,  60 

in  monograms,  79 
Serifs,  6,  8,  9,  14,  18 
Seymour,  R.  F.,  66,  68,  73 
Show^ard  lettering,  books  on,  8g 
Signals  and  signs,  41 
Single-stroke  letters,  22 

inclined  caps,  25 

inclined  lower-case,  28 

vertical  caps,  24 
Sketches,  68,  71 

Slope  of  inclined  letters,  25,  27,  60 
Sonnecken  pens,  53 
Space  fillers,  57 
Spacing,  32,  3i,  57,  70 
Stencil  letters,  61 
Stone,  letters  on,  40,  71 


Stump  letters,  31,  41 
Superimposed  monograms,  77 
Symmetrical  title,  25 

"t"  line,  47 

Table  of  letters  and  their  uses,  72 

Tablets,  bronze,  41,  65,  68,  71 

Taylor,  Isaac,  i 

Text  letters,  55 

Tomb  of  Henry  VII,  7 

Trajan's  column,  i,  6 

Triangles,  slope,  25 

Type,  Delia  Robbia,  47 

Jenson,  45 

Missal,  50 

U,  use  of  sharp  V  for,  8 


Uncial,  the,  2,  47 

alphabets,  48,  49,  50,  89,  90 

in  monograms,  79 

use  of,  50,  72 

use  with  Gothic,  53 
Upright  single  stroke,  23,  24 

Vorsals,  49 

Vertical  single  stroke  caps,  24 

Waist  line,  18,  47 

White,  use  of,  83 

Wieynk,  Heinrich,  60 

Working  drawing  titles,  37,  38,  41 

Zinc  etching,  82 


General  p 
Gcologica 
Gcomclri< 
German  t 
Gothic,  5 
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